All the Worlds A Stage
by Akalina Kellinor
Summary: Amu and Ikuto wake up one morning to find themselves in a theatre where theyre mistaken for actors and forced into playing Romoe and Juliet What happens when they start connecting the story to their own lives? How will Ikuto react when Amu has a boyfriend
1. Chapter 1

Alright! Here we go, this is my first Amuto story, so please be kind. I really hope you guys enjoy it, please review!

Obviously, I don't own Shugo Chara, or Princess Bride for that matter.

Chapter 1: Her world turned Upside Down.

Ikuto slowly came awake with a yawn and stretched. He blinked…what was Amu doing in his bed??? Not that he didn't want her there, it just wasn't exactly her thing. He looked around in his confusion. Wait a minute….this wasn't his room? Where was he? He was about to get concerned but didn't have time, Amu was waking up. Her bronze eyes fluttered open for a second and landed on his blue ones and shot open as she jumped upright "You Pervert what are you doing in MY be-" her screaming was cut off as he covered her mouth and pulled her down.

"Just calm down Amu…" he told her quietly, "This isn't my doing."

A muffled, "What?" came through his hand.

She finally stopped struggling however and he released her, "What do you mean?" she asked worriedly.

He shrugged, "I don't know, I just woke up too. I have no idea what's going on."

"So…this isn't your room?" she asked looking around.

They were sitting on a large white fluffy bed which took up most of the space in the room. In the corner was the closet and to their left an antique dresser with matching mirror and all over the walls were posters promoting different…plays? She took a closer look, yes they were all for different plays. She read the list of titles, _Snow White, Swan Princess, Pride and Prejudice, Midsummer Night's Dream, 3 Musketeers, Peter Pan…._ The list went on and on.

"Does this look like my room?" Ikuto asked breaking through her thoughts.

"Well…no." she admitted.

He smirked, "Although…we are all alone in here," he told her suggestively as he leaned closer to her.

She cringed and backed up, "I-Ikuto…w, what are you talking about?"

He got closer and closer to her and she squeezed her eyes shut when suddenly…

He bonked her on the head and laughed ruffling her hair and pulling back. "Don't tell me you thought I was actually going to kiss you or something kid."

She gulped and shook her head breathing out a sigh of relief, "N,n, no. Not at all!"

He chuckled again, then turned serious, "Anyway…we need to figure out what's going on here. How we got here, where here is, and more importantly how to get out of here."

Suddenly the door burst open, and a kind looking lady in about her forties stood in the doorway with rosy cheeks and a round gut. She was the epitome of motherliness. "Time to get up you two!" she told them in a pleasant once again, motherly tone.

Amu and Ikuto looked at each other and blinked with confusion.

"Come on now!" she told them marching into the room. She grabbed Ikuto by the arm, and pulled him from the bed, "Let's go Westley, I'm not letting you miss your que again!"

Ikuto's eyes widened and he looked at Amu as he was drug from the room, _Westley????_ He wondered.

Amu sat on the bed for a few minutes staring at the door that Ikuto had just disappeared through in complete bewilderment. She didn't know what to do, she was alone now. She looked around, where were her charas when she needed them? Last she checked they were at home, asleep in their eggs. She sighed they were probably still there, which meant she was on her own. Suddenly the woman came in again, "You too little missy! You've got to get to work as well."

"Wha?!" as the woman grabbed her and she fell off the bed.

She rubbed her head carefully and stood slowly. The woman reached out a hand and helped her up. "Oh I'm sorry darling, I didn't mean to hurt you. Are you okay?"

She nodded, "Yeah…I think so."

"Good, now come on, you've got to get going, they've already started."

She pulled the pink-haired youth from the room, "Uh…excuse me…" Amu said as she was dragged along, "but…who are you?"

The woman stopped a moment and looked at Amu with concern in her eyes then suddenly burst out laughing. Amu stared as the woman laughed to the point of tears and held her stomach.

_Whats so funny????_ She thought to herself.

Eventually the woman stopped and drew in a few quick breathes she put a hand on Amu's shoulder and spoke "That's a good one hun, you had me worried for a minute." She shook her head, "You've been watching too many of those plays, you're starting to get good at acting. Even so it wasn't nice, you had me thinking you lost your memory or something after you hit your head back there. Now go on, get, Ryan's waiting for you back stage, poor lad can't do it all by himself you know." She shoved Amu towards a door at the end of the hallway. She glanced back at the woman who was disappearing around the corner and shook her head, she was just plain crazy. But there was nothing to do be done about it she sighed and looked at the door in front of her. _I wonder who Ryan is…._ She thought. "Well…" she said out loud, "I guess there's only one way to find out." She pulled the door open only to be met with the black curtains of a theatre's stage. She could hear the sound of different voices coming through the curtains as she walked along the back of the stage.

"You are ready then?" came one voice

"Whether I am or not, you've been more than fair," came a second voice. Amu strained to hear better, the voice sounded familiar.

"You seem a decent fellow, I hate to kill you."

"You seem a decent fellow, I hate to die."

She paused about halfway across was that…Ikuto's voice she was hearing? She pried the curtains aside and carefully peeked out. Sure enough there was Ikuto standing on stage a fake sword in hand and another man standing a little ways away from him also holding a pretend sword. Her eyes widened as she watched a duel unfold between them. She started thinking about their current situation. Apparently they were in a theatre of sorts and Ikuto had somehow been mistaken for an actor…but how? And what about her? What was she doing here? There were still so many questions, so much she didn't know.

Suddenly someone grabbed hold of the back of her shirt and jerked her backwards.

"What the?!" she cried in alarm and spun around faster than lightning. She found herself staring at a sixteen year old boy. He had short jet black hair and emerald green eyes that's sparkled and shone with happiness. He was dressed a pair of dark jeans and tight long-sleeved white shirt which went well with his tanned skin.

"What are you doing pipsqueak?" he asked her, "You know how much trouble you'll be in if the director catches you peeking."

"I, uh, I…what are you talking about?"

He sighed and shook his head, "Never mind, just come on," he took her hand in his and tugged her along with him, the curtain rippling ever so slightly as they walked along. At last they reached the other side of the stage where the prop table was. He pushed some props aside, ruining the painstaking effort of however had carefully labeled the places for each prop and sat on the table watched the practice from there. Amu studied the various props for a few moments which ranged from hidden daggers, eyeglasses, and goblets, to gloves, and wigs of all shapes and colors. She soon grew bored with the props however and new not what to do so she moved to the boys side and stood watching the performance; though for the most part she only focused on Ikuto. She found it intriguing that despite being suddenly thrust into his role as Westley he was actually playing the part surprisingly well. Who would've thought the cat-thief could act? Certainly not her. However, watching him there, she saw something in the him that seemed familiar. There was something in his eyes, in his manner, that she knew she had seen before. Visions of the night she had stumbled upon him playing his violin in the park flashed through her memory and she knew that was it. For him, acting was much the same as playing violin, he connected with it in a meaningful way. She could see it in the peace and comfort that he exuberated as he moved about the stage, it fit him well, and his eyes, they held the same glimmer of melancholy as they had when he played the beautiful but sad song. Watching him act was just like listening to him play, it was a thing of great beauty laced with sadness. She frowned and her face fell, why must life be that way? Why must the things meant to bring only happiness and joy to someone be tainted by sorrow? She wondered if there was anything at all in Ikuto's tragic world that was purely good, that brought joy without the shadow of pain or sadness. She doubted it. He loved to play the violin, it was the most precious thing to him, and yet even that had been invaded by sadness. Her fist clenched suddenly._ Its not right._ She thought to herself. _It shouldn't be that way._ Sure Ikuto could be annoying and get on her nerves at times, and but everyone gets on someone's nerves eventually. And yes, he worked for Easter, but it wasn't his choice. His fate had been chosen for him long before he was able to make the choice for himself, it just wasn't fair, no one deserved that, not even a pervert like looked up and stared at hard at him. _Ikuto…I want…I want you to be happy, truly happy. I want to help you to find that something, that is good and wonderful and cannot be touched by pain, or tragedy or anything else. We all need something that can help us through our darkest times, and brings a smile to our faces in the midst of tears and heartbreak. You deserve it more than anything else Ikuto, so I'm going to help you find it, no matter what. _

She closed her eyes and was silent for a moment and took a deep breathe and exhaled before slowly opening them. She was glad she had decided to help him.

"Hey Rosie, you feeling okay? You've been kinda quite. Ryan asked her suddenly.

"Huh? OH...yeah…I'm fine"

"You sure?"

She nodded.

"Okay….well, it's almost the end of the Second Act, do you wanna get some food and head up to the loft?"

_The loft???_ She wondered, "Um, thanks for the offer, but actually I have something I need to do during break…thanks though."

His face fell and she felt bad for disappointing the boy. Why did he want to eat with her anyway? He must have mistaken her for one of his friends, just like Ikuto had been mistaken as an actor. Regardless of how bad she felt however she needed to sit down and talk with Ikuto about their situation. She wondered how long they would have to talk.

"Hey Ryan?" she started.

He looked up, "Yeah?"

"How long of a break do we have today? I remember them telling me but I forgot already."

He shook his head, "You're always so forgetful, I hope you don't forget tomorrow. We have forty minutes to eat and do whatever else, but we can't leave the theatre."

_Tomorrow?_ She thought. _What's going on tomorrow?_ She didn't follow through however. "Alright thanks, now that you say it I remember them telling us that."

He rolled his eyes, "Rosie, that's what you always say when I tell you."

She shrugged and gave an innocent smile.

"Yo, Amu."

She looked to her left as she heard Ikuto call to her. Apparently the second act was over and Ikuto was no longer needed on stage. He had slipped through the curtains straight away without bothering to change back to his normal clothes. As a result he still had on the rather sexy black long flowy shirt that just happened to have a very wide V-neck which exposed the majority of his chest. Amu gaped for a moment then instantly chided herself. _What are you thinking?! Its Tadese you like remember! Think of your prince!!!! Right right…but still…I didn't realize how muscular he was…or how great his hair looks wet. AMU! _She shook her head forcing the thoughts away.

"Amu?" Ryan asked, "Oh…right must be stage name for the play you two are working on. Right?"

Amu gulped and nodded hurriedly. "Yep! You're right."

Ikuto slowly made his way over. "Anyhow, if you don't mind we've got something important we need to discuss

"Uh…right." Ryan said slowly, "See you later Rosie."

She nodded and waved before walking off with Ikuto. She breathed a sigh of relief and leaned against him taking comfort in once again being with someone she knew.

"Awww, Amu don't tell me you actually missed me?"

"WHAAA?" she pulled away immediately, "As if!"

He rolled his eyes and was about to respond when suddenly he was approached by a rather muscular looking blonde man who held a book in hand, "Hey, Jake how's it going?"

"Good, how bout you?" Ikuto responded naturally."

He shrugged, "Alright, you wanna run some lines together?" he asked.

Amu realized the book was actually a script.

Ikuto seemed regretful, "Ah…sorry but I've got some business to take care of actually…"

"Oh, well okay then."

"Maybe later k?"

"K, sounds good."

With that Amu and Ikuto hurried the rest of the way to the bedroom they had woken up in earlier that morning. Ikuto locked the door behind them as Amu collapsed onto the bed. She hurriedly sat up however and turned serious. "Okay, so let's go over what we've figured out so far." She said he nodded silently.

"First off, we woke up in this theatre with no recollection of how we got here."

He nodded, "Then this lady, do you know her name?" she paused.

He thought a moment, "Uh I think I heard something like Mrs. Walker."

"K, so Mrs. Walker barges in and has you act as Westley from Princess Bride, and me as a stagehand backstage," she continued and once again he nodded.

"So…somehow everyone here has mistaken you for an actor and me for a stagehand. But we still don't know why, how we got here, or even where here is."

"Why not head outside and find out?"

"We can't, Ryan says we can't leave the theatre during breaks."

He frowned. "Well then I guess there's nothing we can do for now."

She sighed, "Your right, until we figure things out we're just going to have to keep pretending everything's normal, and go along with whatever else everyone says."

He shrugged, "Seems easy enough."

"For you maybe, I saw you, you're amazing at acting. Me…not so much."

"Just don't think so much about it, just use that 'cool and spicy character' and it'll be fine"

She shrugged "I hope so." She sighed, this was crazy, one night she was living happily in her perfect little world and the next it had been turned completely upside down. She had gone from a school girl to a stagehand working in a theatre and with Ikuto of all people. Why couldn't it have been Tadese-kun?

_Oh well…_ she told herself. _Nothing can be done about it now. Besides, I've never really been in a real theatre like this before, it could be fun. And maybe…just maybe I can help Ikuto find that one thing that'll make him happy._


	2. Chapter 2

Alright, here we go, chapter 2, I hope you guys like it, sorry it took so long to get this up, I had one insanely busy week last week and even busier weekend, so yeah things are a lot better now and so hopefully I should be able to update consistently. Anyhow, please review, thanks!

Chapter 2: "Just leave the talking to me"

Amu sighed with exhaustion and collapsed backwards onto the big white fluffy bed. "I'm completely wore out, who would've ever thought that stagehanding could be so much work."

"You?" Ikuto asked falling down besides her, "I'm the one who had it hard, try getting hit with a wooden sword about fifty times while you have to run the same boring scene over and over and over again?"

"Yeah well I had to pretend like I knew what all the props were and who they went to and had to constantly run back and forth giving them to different people. Not to mention that guy you were working with kept yelling at me every time I was late or had the wrong prop." She frowned.

Ikuto just rolled his eyes and decided to change the subject, "Anyway we need to make our escape tonight."

She sat up suddenly and looked at him with determination in her eyes "right." _The sooner I get out of here the sooner I'll get back to my prince! _"So what do you suggest?" she asked

He shrugged, "I haven't really had a chance to explore this place…I know there's a large window above the stage. I'm sure I could get up there and go out that way but…" he bit his lip and looked at her.

"What?" she asked in bewilderment.  
"Well…its just I'm not so sure you could make it….you're not exactly the most graceful."

Her eyes widened and she punched him "IKUTO!"

He chuckled, "regardless, I don't want to risk it.

"Why not just try going out the back door and see what happens, I mean, its not like these people expect us to stay here twenty four seven. Lets just say we're going out for some fresh air or something." Amu suggested.

He shrugged, "It wouldn't hurt I guess. Lets go." He stood from the bed and taking her hand in his marched towards the door.  
Once they were through the door they peered cautiously around the corner. They weren't exactly expecting resistance but even so, it would be much better if no one were to see them. It was well into the night and they had woken fairly early so thankfully most people were in bed. They made their way down several hallways without anything happening. Finally they saw the door at the end of one last hallway. Hope swelled within Amu's heart, they were actually going to make it.

She spoke too soon. They reached the end of the hallway and Ikuto's hand was stretched out; almost on the door knob.

"WHAT DO YOU TWO THINK YOUR DOING?"

Amu spun around in alarm at the voice. She breathed a sigh of relief when she found out it was only Mrs. Walker. She stifled a giggle, the woman had been getting ready for bed and was in a floral night gown and green facial mask.

"Well???" she asked tapping her foot.

_Oh, that's right…she's waiting for an explanation. _Amu panicked, _Oh no! What should I say????_

She opened her mouth and nothing came out. Her eyes widened and she was even more freaked out then before. Thankfully she was saved by Ikuto.

"Oh, hi Mrs. Walker," he said pleasantly, "We were just heading out for a quick stroll before heading to bed, that's all."

She shook her head and was no less upset "You guys know the rules, no going out after dark, we can't have you losing sleep and having it affect your performance!"

"I know, I know," he replied, "But come on, we've both been working hard all day, we deserve a little break. Besides, it was just going to be a real short walk, not long enough to effect us tomorrow, I promise."

She remained indignant, "I don't care, those are the rules, now git to bed you two!" she told them pointing back down the hallway.

The two sighed in defeat and slowly went back the way they had come. All of Amu's hope was completely gone. She glanced behind, Mrs. Walker was following them back to her room. She frowned, there was definitely no chance of escape now. _I hope Tadese-kun will wait for me…._

A few minutes later and they were back in the room.

Amu let out a sigh of relief, "That was really close."

Ikuto rolled his eyes, "Hey Amu?"

"Yeah?"

"Next time we're in a situation like that, don't even try to talk, just leave it to me."

"Why not?" she asked,

"Cause one, it makes you look like an idiot, and two even if you could manage to say something it probably would just end up making no sense what-so-ever or be really obvious that you're lying. Trust me, I'm used to having to do this kind of stuff, so just let me handle it."

At first she was filled with resentment when he said she looked like an idiot but then she head him say something and the anger quickly disappeared. _'I'm used to doing this kind of stuff.'_ She frowned and her heart fell. He shouldn't have to be used to it.

"Anyway…" he said moving towards the bed, "There's nothing we can do for tonight so, let's just get some sleep."

She nodded in agreement, "Okay. Hey! What are you doing on the bed?!" she cried as he laid down and pulled the covers over himself. He gave her a bored look, "I'm going to sleep, something wrong with that?"

"Yes! I'm sleeping in the bed."

"Fine then, there's plenty of room."

"No way Ikuto, I'm not sleeping in the same bed as you!"

He grinned, "Why not? Don't you like cuddling with me? I mean remember how you leaned against me after practice?"

Her face was turning red, "Th-th-that was j,just a one ti-time thing okay! I was just glad to be with someone who didn't think my name was Rosie and that I was a stage hand th-that's all! I didn't mean anything by it!" she stuttered out angrily.

He chuckled, "Of course it didn't mean anything, that's why you're getting so upset over it."

Amu grabbed a pillow suddenly and whacked Ikuto in the face. "Aww…Amu that wasn't very nice."

"I WASN'T TRYING TO BE NICE!"

He put a finger to his mouth, "Shhh, you'll wake every one up."

She folded her arms in front of her "I don't care."

He sighed and rolled his eyes, "What a baby…" he muttered under his breathe. "Alright alright, just settle down now," he told her gently, "I'll just sleep on the floor if that's what you really want."

She brightened and the storm clouds dissipated. "Thank you." She waited till Ikuto was off of the bed before hopping into it and getting comfortable.

"I guess this is what I deserve after all…." He said suddenly.

She rolled over and looked at him, "What do you mean?"

"Well seeing as how I did take a considerable amount of abuse during rehearsal today, and how I totally saved our skin out there, it makes perfect sense that I would be the one stuck on the floor."

She sighed, he was trying to guilt trip her, and the horrible part was it was actually working. "Okay, okay…" She muttered, "You can sleep up here."

He smirked and stood crawling into the bed next to her.

She rolled the other way, "I'll sleep on the floor tonight, but tomorrow I get the bed oka-" she was cut off when suddenly a pair of strong arms enveloped her, preventing her from leaving the bed.

"I-Ikuto, wh-what are you doing?!"

"I'm not letting you sleep on the floor Amu, it just not right for a girl to have to sleep on the floor."

She struggled in his grasp and he suddenly pulled her close to him and she felt the warmth of his body and the sweet smell of his cologne. He whispered into her ear, "I'm trying to be nice Amu, please don't fight me about this, I'm determined, so please just close your eyes and go to sleep. I promise you, I won't do anything weird or perverted to you while you sleep."

She exhaled slowly and thought about it, she didn't know if she should trust him or not, after all this was Ikuto they were talking about, but then again she knew better then to think she could escape the firm hold he had on her and she might regret making him mad when trying to break free. So then really her only option was to go willingly. She relaxed herself, "Alright…" she told him. "Good."He smiled and she felt him loosen his grip on her, he still had his arms wrapped around her waist but it was a much gentler and more comfortable hold then before. Amu closed her eyes she could feel Ikuto's chest moving rhythmically as he breathed. She focused on that and matched her breathing with his. _In….out…..In……out…..In…..out….In………………_ before she knew it, she was fast asleep, in the safety of Ikuto's arms.

Amu came awake slowly she yawned and stretched only to suddenly stop. Something was holding her back, she looked down to find two arms around her waist. Her eyes widened with panic for a moment and then she remembered, Ikuto. She breathed a sigh of relief. She glanced to her left, Ikuto was still fast asleep, she decided to take the opportunity to wiggle her way out, she was halfway there when suddenly his grip tightened. He pulled her against his body like a teddy bear and rolled over in his sleep taking her with him.

"Ikuto! Wake up!" she cried after she the bed had stopped rocking from the sudden movement.

"Just a little longer…" he murmured without opening his eyes.

"Ikuto!" she cried once more. He didn't respond so she did the only thing she could think of she pulled one arm free and then reached down and pinched his arm.

His eyes shot open and he looked at her sleepily, "Amu…?" he asked.

She breathed a sigh of relief, he was awake now, good. "Yes, now will you please let me go…do you have any idea what it'll look like if someone se--"

The door swung open on the hinges and Amu felt like cursing. Why did she have to go and open her big fat mouth, her worst fear had just come true. There was Mrs. Walker standing in the threshold and here she was with Ikuto, not only in the same bad but the way he was holding her…well, it could definitely give off the wrong impression. She opened her mouth just like last night but once again nothing came out. She just stared at the woman with a horrified look in her eyes. Suddenly though the woman smiled warmly, "I see you're taking practice for that love scene pretty seriously Jake. And how nice of you Rose to help him out with it, though you might want to work on your facial expression hun, I know you're not an actress, but even so, you look more frightened then like someone in love." Both Amu and Ikuto stared at the woman in wonder, yep, she definitely had a few loose screws.

"Anyhow, you too better get a move on, you've already missed breakfast!"

"R, right," Amu said sliding Ikuto arms over her head and getting off the bed.

Ikuto smiled at the woman, "Thank you so much for coming and letting us know, I tend to lose track of time when I'm practicing for a scene."

She grinned "I know how it is dear, well, I better get to cleaning the kitchen, see you around."

"Bye." Ikuto waved and the woman shut the door.

Amu let out another sigh of relief.

"Amu….what did I say last night?" Ikuto asked her.

"A lot of things why?"  
"I said to leave the talking to me remember?"

"Oh…that, yeah sorry."

"Its fine for now, but soon as we come up against someone normal we'll be in trouble, so please try to hold it in."

She nodded, "Anyway, I gotta run, I don't want to get yelled at for being late."

He agreed, "Alright, see you during break."

With that Amu hurriedly exited and made her way backstage. She found Ryan waiting just like yesterday only today he had a bouquet of pink roses in hand.

Her eyes sparkled and she rushed over smelling them, "Oh their sooooo pretty! Who are they for?!"

He chuckled, "Nice try hun, you know they're for you!" he held the roses out to her.

"What? Why would you do something like that?"  
He shook his head, "I knew you were forgetful but even so, I thought you'd remember something like our anniversary!"

"A-A-Anniversary!" she cried.

He grinned, "Yep, as of today, we've been together a whole year!"  
"EH!!!!" Amu shouted in shock as her world started spinning, "You mean…we…I….you, and…we, and I, you m-mean you're m—my BOYFRIEND!"


	3. Chapter 3

Hey Guys, thanks a lot for all of the awesome reviews, they're so helpful and really motivate me to keep writing, please keep em coming! I hope you all enjoy this new chapter!

Chapter 3

The girlfriend Act

A few minutes later and Amu was still standing there in shock, her mouth was wide open and her eyes were moving back and forth between Ryan and the Flowers. Flowers to Ryan, flowers, Ryan, flowers, Ryan.

Meanwhile, behind her there was the sound of swishing curtains, "Yo, Rosie, everything alright? I heard you scream…" Ikuto declared putting a hand on her shoulder.

She turned slowly still in a daze, it was weird hearing him call her by that name, but at the same time she knew it was necessary to blend in. Her focus shifted back to the crisis at hand. Her eyes went back to their roving, Ryan, flowers, Ryan,

"Rose!" Ikuto said louder this time as he shook her softly. She snapped out of it. "Oh Hey Ik-J-Jake. Umm…y,yeah, everything's great. I just screamed cause…" she paused a moment and concentrated hard, _Come on Amu, think Cool and Spicy, Cool and Spicy! _"I just screamed cause I was SO happy that he remembered our anniversary!" she declared confidently as she walked towards Ryan and embraced him tightly, she held the pose for a moment then pulled back with a huge grin on her face, "You really are the greatest boyfriend of all time!" She groaned internally _This is NOT my character at ALL! _

"Boyfriend…?" Ikuto murmured quietly under his breath.

"You say something?" Ryan asked slinging his arm around Amu, she focused on Ikuto to keep from pursuing her urge shrug his arm off her shoulder.

Ikuto shook his head, "No, just thinking out loud that's all, anyhow, I've got to get back to rehearsal."

"Right, C ya later Jake." Amu declared waving merrily. Once again she groaned on the inside. _I wish he'd stay, now I have to spend the rest of the hour back stage with this guy._ She cast a sideways glance at Ryan who still had his arm around her. Yep, it was going to be a long hour alright.

For Amu the minutes slowly ticked by and seemed to take an eternity, Ryan did eventually take his arm off of Amu, however that didn't stop him from giving her these weird looks that she felt were trouble, nor did it put an end to the general awkwardness of the situation. For Ikuto on the other hand the hour passed rather quickly he threw himself even more intensely into the acting than before, allowing himself to be fully absorbed into the character from the play known as Westely. Before he had been imitating Westely, but now, he was becoming Westely.

At last the hour came to an end and Amu breathed easier knowing that in a few short minutes she would be free of Ryan and able to spend some time talking to Ikuto. The Actors were finished with rehearsing and the curtain parted ways as Ikuto poked his head through, he saw Amu sitting there on the prop table and walked over. Amu grinned, genuinely, and smiled as she jumped down, "Hey!" she called.

"hey," he waved apathetically.

She opened her mouth to ask him about lunch when suddenly she was stopped by Ryan.

"Hey hun, come with me to the loft I have something for you," he told her casually sliding his hand into hers.

She bit her lip and forced her downright objection to the idea away and mustered forth another smile, "Sounds great!" with that she let Ryan lead the way as he tugged her down the hallway, except he didn't go in the direction of the normal exit they always used, this time they went the opposite way to a smaller door that was off to the side that Amu had secretly wondered about since arriving. Ryan pushed the door open and walked through, Amu still in tow. She paused a moment and threw a look over her shoulder and saw Ikuto standing there, alone, watching them. She mouthed the words _I'm sorry_ and had an apologetic look in her eyes before turning her focus back to Ryan. Once they were through the door she saw a flight of stairs leading upward. They began to ascend together and Amu wondered what Ikuto would do by himself, it's not like he had anyone else he could hang out with during break, she felt bad but knew there was nothing she could do about it now. For the moment she was roped into being this guys girlfriend. She gagged, not that she didn't like him, or that he wasn't attractive, he was actually very attractive and that Irish accent, she loved it, she melted every time he opened his mouth. What? It's not her fault she has a weak point for guys with accents; but even so the concept of having to be all lovey-dovey around this guy wasn't exactly the most appealing thing ever, in fact the concept of being lovey-dovey around anyone really didn't sound fun, it just wasn't her thing. But then again…she wouldn't mind being all lovey-dovey with Tadase-kun. She blushed at the thought, and quickly shoved aside the thoughts knowing they would only serve to distract and refocused on the current situation. They had reached the top of the stairs and Amu's eyes widened as she looked around. It was wonderful, they were above the stage and could see almost the whole theatre below, she studied the wall that wrapped the theatre; there was a beautiful mural of the night sky, it was so peaceful feeling. Ryan watched her reaction and chuckled, "You act as if you've never seen it before."

_That's because I haven't._ she said to herself, aloud she said, "You know, it's just so great, that sometimes I forget and have to take the time to stop and remember that's all."

"Riiiiiiight…." He shook his head. "anyway, now for the surprise," he turned around and reached behind the railing and pulled out a picnic basket, "If we could I woulda made it so we had a picnic outside, but seeing as how that's not allowed, I figured we could have it up here. I talked to all the other actors, they know we're up here so they won't come and disturb us."

She forced herself to look adoringly into his eyes, "Oh Ryan that's so sweet of you."

He grinned, "It was nothing baby," he told her leaning forward and gently tucking a stray strand of hair behind ear, "I'd gladly do it again and so much more so long as I got to see your pretty face at the end of it."

Amu didn't know what to say so she simply smiled.

"Well, what are you waiting for, lets eat." He told her grabbing the basket and pulling it close to them. He reached inside and brought out a large black and red checkered blanket and carefully placed two plates with sandwiches on them. With that they began to eat their lunch and Amu forced herself to act happy as Ryan continued to make comments on how much he loved her and kept giving her goo goo eyes; ironically enough she found that in her desperate attempt to drown Ryan out she found herself thinking once more of Ikuto. If she thought about it he probably had decided to go all emo and eat alone in their room, that was another matter, why was it that the two of them were allowed to share a room together? As far as she knew none of the other actors of opposite genders were able to share a room together it was kind of weird, but then again the whole situation was weird. Her attention shifted back to Ikuto solely. She still hadn't made any progress on figuring out what it was that could make him happy, she frowned internally, she wasn't sure how long they would be here or how long she had to figure it out. With her focus on that the time seemed to go by a lot quicker. She was glad when the half hour break had ended and they were headed backstage once more. This time she opted to stand beside the table instead of sit on it and let Ryan sit on it by himself. She watched Ikuto act once more and was taken in by the sight, he seemed to be acting with more passion than normal, watching him, it was like he was begging someone to watch, to be drawn into the story, to join him on the journey, once she started watching she couldn't take her eyes off of the scene. It was like she was being pulled into another world, Ikuto's world. She was suddenly and roughly snatched from that world however by an Irish accent,

"Rosie, make sure you don't go anywhere after rehearsal is over today, k?"

"wha? Oh…uh, sure okay….why?"

He flashed her a winning smile, "Cause it's our anniversary and I still have another surprise for you."

"Really? That's great," she told him, _Just…great._ She muttered to herself. She hadn't had a chance to talk with Ikuto the entire day and now it looked like she wasn't even going to be able to do so after she was done stagehanding. This whole pretending to be Ryan's girlfriend thing was exhausting and she had no idea how long she would be able to keep it up.

The rest of the day passed as a complete blur for her, between watching Ikuto act, handing props to crazy sleep deprived actors, and keeping up with her girlfriend duties she didn't have any more time to think about the situation she was in. She hardly had time to breathe let alone think about Ikuto and his special something. Suddenly the day was over and Amu was exhausted she was ready for a break. She started heading for the her and Ikuto's room when suddenly she was stopped as Ryan grabbed hold of her hand, "Don't forget I've got a surprise for you honey."

"Oh that's right, silly me…." She held back a groan, she just wanted to be done.

"Why don't we head back up to the loft…" he told her.

"Uh…okay." She began wondering what it was he had planned.

Once more they headed through the door and up the stairs. Amu gasped as they reached the loft; the whole place was alight with scented white candles; the whole place smelled of vanilla.

Ryan turned to her, "Do you like it?"

"I…love it," she answered sincerely.

"I'm glad, I thought it would be the perfect atmosphere."

"For what?" she asked.

"For a dance." He told her drawing him close to her.

For the first time Amu noticed the gentle sound of violin and piano floating through the room, her eyes widened as Ryan started waltzing, taking her with him. He took her right hand in his and slid his other hand around her waist. Amu shuddered involuntarily as fear gripped her. She couldn't explain it but she just didn't like the situation as a whole, she had no idea where this night would end, but at the same time it was wonderful. The whole thing was like a dream, she felt like she was floating.

From above, amongst the rafters was a certain blue haired boy, he watched the pair intently with a serious scowl on his face.

Ryan spun Amu tenderly and pulled her back in spinning her in even closer to him. Suddenly he paused and stared deeply into her eyes, Amu suddenly got a bad feeling, Ryan started leaning closer and closer to her, she started to panic, he, he was going to kiss her! Her heart pounded inside her chest and she was paralyzed with fear, she didn't know what to do. She was terrified she didn't know how to react, she had been in this situation countless times with Ikuto but somehow this was different. Was it because she could actually trust Ikuto not to do anything she wasn't ready for? _No of course not, he's the biggest pervert I know!_ She cried internally. Then why was this feeling so different, why was she afraid of Ryan kissing her and not Ikuto? Why was her mind screaming for Ikuto to magically appear and stop Ryan? She stared at Ryan's quickly approaching lips and pulled her head back slightly, she felt his grip on her waist tighten, he wasn't letting her get out of this. She bit her lip, determined not to let this stranger gain access to her, he didn't let that stop him however as she suddenly pressed his lips to hers. Amu's eyes widened and she started to tremble her whole body shaking, this wasn't right, she didn't want this, but she didn't know how to stop it.


	4. Chapter 4

Hey guys, here's the newest chapter, I really hope you guys enjoy it, I really had a fun time writing it. Sorry that not a whole lot happens in this chapter, but the next one will have more, I promise, so, yeah, have fun! Please please _**please**_ review! Thanks!

Chapter 4

Romeo and Juliet

Ikuto paced nervously atop the rafters watching the scene below him unfold. He had come because he was afraid Amu couldn't handle it and would blow their cover, or at least that's what he told himself to make himself feel better. He didn't like how things were going though. The candlelight and music was one thing, but the dancing? Dancing was a highly personal action, at least ballroom dancing, you didn't just dance like that with anyone. He paused suddenly as he saw the Irish kid spin Amu out and the noticed the look of pure happiness on her face, he wanted to believe that look was her doing some really good acting, but deep down he knew that wasn't the case, she really was actually enjoying it. His interest grew as Ryan pulled Amu in and he paid close attention to how close he pulled her; pressing her body against his own. His scowl deepened, he knew exactly where this was going, and he didn't like it at all. He restrained himself however, he knew Amu would most likely call him a stalker for following her up there, so instead he just watched intently. Ryan was getting ready to kiss her, he leaned towards her, and then Ikuto saw it, the look of bliss on Amu's face disappeared and he saw her pull back only to be met with Ryan's firm grip. That was all Ikuto needed, Amu didn't want to go through with the kiss and he would do his best to make sure she didn't have to. As hopped from crossbeam to crossbeam unexplainable feelings of rage and jealousy swelled within him, he faltered a moment, jealousy? He shoved the thought aside and continued his hurried dissent, there was no way he could be jealous, jealousy would imply that he liked Amu, and he didn't, therefore, whatever he was feeling it wasn't jealousy.

Ikuto was only a couple of beams away from the lowest one, he glanced towards Amu and cursed under his breathe, despite her resistant that idiot was still trying to kiss her, he now had his lips pressed firmly to hers. Once again that unnamed emotion rose inside of him; causing Ikuto to ignore the last couple of beams altogether and jump from where he was. He landed softly as a cat being sure to bend his knees about hitting the ground to help absorb the shock. Turning he placed a firm grip on Ryan's shoulder; a _very_ firm grip. The boy didn't take the hint however so Ikuto helped him by wrenching his shoulder backwards pulling his body with.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Ikuto demanded

"Nothing, since when is it a crime to kiss your girlfriend?" he replied with annoyance.

"It is when she doesn't want you to kiss her!" he told him looking to Amu who was visibly upset.

"Since when is it any of your business? Just cause you're her cousin doesn't mean you have the right to butt into her life like this!"

_Cousin?_ Ikuto wondered for a moment, he quickly deemed it irrelevant and continued his tirade "It became my business the moment you decided to violate her!"

"I DIDN'T VIOLATE HER! IT WAS JUST A KISS!"

"A kiss that she clearly didn't want!"

"Yes she did!"

"NO. she didn't, and if you **ever** try something like that again, I promise you'll regret it," with that Ikuto turned his back on Ryan and faced Amu gently wiping the tears from her eyes. "Come on Amu…let's get you out of here," he told her taking her hand in his. He knew he should be calling her Rose still but he was too pissed off to really care. Together they walked out of the loft and down the stairs and for once, Ikuto noticed she actually seemed glad to be holding his hand, he thought about it for a moment; looking down at their intertwined hands. It was something he had done countless times, but never really thought about it, it was a habit, something he did without even realizing it. Looking at their hands however he noticed for the first time how perfectly their hands seemed to fit together, how right it felt. He quickly shook the thoughts aside however recognizing that he wasn't thinking clearly. This was Amu was he was talking about, and besides, this couldn't last long, before too much later they would escape from this place and return to their normal lives, lives were they were enemies. He sighed and studied the ground.

Amu cast a sidelong glance at Ikuto, she was so grateful for him saving her, she don't what she would've done if it had turned into a full-fledged kiss. She couldn't even begin to express the amount of relief she felt flooding over her when Ikuto showed up, she didn't know where he had come from, but she didn't really care, all she knew was that he had saved her. She saw him studying their hands for a moment and wondered what he was thinking. Once he took his focus off of them she took a moment to look at them as well. She had never truly understood how natural holding his hand really felt, however since she had been holding Ryan's hand all day she noticed a dramatic difference between the two. She felt comfortable holding his hand, but more importantly she felt safe.

"Ikuto," she said suddenly, she had to thank him.

"Hm?" he asked pulling himself with difficulty from his deep thoughts. "What is it?"

"It's just…I wanted to thank you, for saving me….I don't know how I'll ever be able to repay you for it."

He cracked one of his famous smirks and she felt his thumb suddenly caress her hand, "Well…you know," he started mischievously, "You could always reward me with a kiss…."

She pulled her hand from his, "Ikuto! You know what I just went through, if I didn't want to kiss him why would I want to kiss you?"

He rolled his eyes, "You silly, I didn't mean on the lips, just…right here," he told her pointing to his cheek with a grin.

She breathed a sigh of relief "Oh…well if that's it, then I would be glad to." She stopped walking and turned standing on her tip toes she leaned forward and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. A look of surprise spread across his face which he quickly covered up "Wow Amu, you agreed to that pretty quickly, I almost wonder if you've been wanting to do something like that for a while now."

"As if!" she replied "I was just happy to thank you for rescuing me, that's all."

"Of course," he said in a tone that implied he was just saying it too appease her.

"I'm serious Ikuto, it was my way of saying thank you, that's it."

"I know…I know." He told her.

She rolled her eyes and continued down the hallway to their room. He rushed to catch up with her and slid his arm around her waist just as she was about to open the door.

She paused, her hand on the doorknob and looked down at his arm, "Ikuto…? What are you doing?"

He shrugged, "Just seeing what it's like."

"Well I would appreciate if you would let go of me."

He frowned, "Why, you let Ryan do it to you all day!" he complained in his whiny two-year old voice.

"That's only cause I had to." She clarified pointedly lifting his arm and removing it from her waist. She twisted the knob and leaned on the door pushing it open and walking through. Ikuto followed her through and shut the door behind them.

Amu paused a moment and looked around the room. "So….we're cousins huh…that would be why we're allowed to share the same room." She murmured her mind going back to what Ryan had said during his confrontation with Iktuo.

"It would appear so," Ikuto replied quietly.

Amu yawned and stretched, "It's all just so weird, who in their right minds would want to send us here?"

He shrugged, "I'm not really sure, I can't think of any good reason for someone to want to do so, I mean, it's a theatre nothing dangerous about it. Annoying, yes, but life-threatening….not so much."

"Agreed, and how on earth is it everyone here believes were someone different, I don't care what you say, the similarities can not be that close for them to believe we're someone else for several days in a row."

"Exactly, the whole thing is fishy."

"I know but…we don't have any leads, any time to investigate, or anything suspicious."

"Exactly…" he sighed and blinked a few times, his eyes growing heavy with tiredness.

Amu yawned once more and noticed Ikuto was tired as well, "Well…whatever, lets just go to bed for now, we can deal with it another time…"

He nodded in agreement as Amu got into the bed, she curled up in a ball and closed her eyes. They snapped open however as she felt movement on the other side of the bed, "….Ikuto?" she asked turning over and looking at him.

He pried his eyes open, "Yeah?"

"I thought we agreed I got the bed tonight."

"You do."

"But you're on it."

"Yeah."

"I have a problem with that."

"Well deal with it, I'm tired."

"If you're that tired you can sleep on the floor."

"Is that any way to treat the hero who saved your from a kiss with Ryan?"

She rolled her eyes, "Your pushing it."  
He smirked, "I know. But only cause I know it'll work."

She frowned, hating the fact that he was right. "Fine, but tonight is the last night!" she told him trying to sound as stern as possible.

He grinned to himself. _That's what you think._ He thought quietly.

With that the two got settled and started falling asleep.

The night passed without anything to report and Ikuto found himself waking up before Amu the next morning. He blinked and looked down to find her snuggled against him as the night before. He wondered how it had happened. _Probably just a subconscious action while sleeping…_ he thought. He rolled away from her and stretched lazily before sitting up. He rubbed his hands over his face trying to get himself awake and eventually forced himself to stand despite his clear desire to go back to sleep. He slid into the bathroom and changed his close. When came out her ventured towards the bed and looked at Amu, she looked so sweet when she was asleep that he almost hated the thought of waking her up. He watched her for a moment before hitting himself on the side of his head. _I really __**am**__ turning into a pervert!_the thought dawned on him and he soon reached forward and gently shook her awake, "Amu…time to get up."

"Wha?" she blinked a few times then groaned and rolled onto her stomach burying her head in the pillow.

"Amu…." He called her named gently as he sat on the side of the bed and placed his hand on her back rubbing back and forth slightly. "Amu you need to get up," he told her as he stopped the massage.

"No…don't stop…." She murmured sleepily.

Smirking he stood and grabbed hold of the comforter. He gripped it tightly and pulled. The blanket was ripped from Amu and she jerked upright shivering, "Iiiiiikuto!" she whined while hugging her pillow tightly.

He grinned, "It's not my fault you wouldn't get up." Leaning downward he slid one hand behind her back and another under her legs as he lifted her into his arms bridal style.

She immediately woke up and her eyes widened as her arms and legs flailed as she yelled at him "IKUTO! What are you doing?! PUT ME DOWN!"

His smirk only widened as he struggled to keep her from falling out of her arms.

She could feel his muscles close in around her as her movement was restricted and he headed towards the door.

Ikuto toyed with the doorknob for a minutes before finally getting it open, "Seriously Ikuto what are you doing?!" she cried.

"I'm making sure you don't miss breakfast you goon."

"I can't go looking like this! My hairs a mess and I'm STILL IN MY PAJAMAS!"

He shrugged with indifference, "And who's fault is that? You wouldn't get up when you were supposed to."

She sighed in annoyance "Ikuto please put me down."  
"Sure I will." He told her watching her face brighten at the news, "As soon as we get to breakfast."

The glow immediately dulled and groaned, "You. Are, ridiculous."

He grinned all the wider, "You really are quite ungrateful Amu, I mean really, don't you know, breakfast is the most important meal of the day?"

She rolled her eyes, "I really couldn't care less about that right now."

"Well you should, cause if you did you wouldn't have gotten yourself into this mess."

With that the conversation came to a halt as they entered the large cafeteria type area, several of the actors paused a moment and looked up at them for a moment and then resume eating. It was only a moment but it was long enough for Amu to start blushing and feel hyper conscious of her pink tank top and matching silk pajama bottoms that said Chicks Rule! all over. Ikuto shook his head all the more amused at her discomfort and at long last set her gently down as he went to get some pancakes.

Once breakfast was over Amu snuck back to their room and took a long hot shower; changing from her pajamas to a pair of dark jeans that ended at her heel and had a sort of tattered look to the bottom as well as a small, but growing whole on her left knee, up top she wore a red-long sleeve v-neck shirt with a black undershirt that lined the bottom of the red one. She also added a black chocker with a red rose in the center. Her outfit complete she emerged from the room to find Ikuto still nowhere in sight. She glanced at the clock and cringed, it looked like practice had already begun. She speedily exited the room and rushed backstage. When she was there she was relieved to find that Ryan was mysteriously not present. She was glad since that meant she didn't have to deal with talking to him about the events of last night, she shuddered at the memory; and in an effort to push it away she turned her attention to the crack in the curtains where she could see the stage. She blinked with confusion as she saw a girl on the stage, and it wasn't the normal girl who played Westley's lover Buttercup but rather someone completely different. _Oh yeah….they're beginning practice for Romeo and Juliet today…_ she remembered. She watched the girl with sudden interest, she would never admit it but, she actually really enjoyed the story of Romeo and Juliet, it was so romantic.

"Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?"

Amu cringed, the girl was totally killing the scene, she didn't have the proper emotions coming through her voice and her facial expressions were even worse. Amu listened on hopping it would get better.

"Deny thy father, and refuse thy name; or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, And I'll no longer be, a Capulet."

Amu frowned sincerely, the girl had it all wrong, she was focusing too much on the sing-songy affect of the word place and not the emotions behind the words, she was only concerned with sounding light and pretty. While she thought on this the play progressed and the next time she started listening it was several lines later. Now she could see Ikuto a standing a few feet away from the Juliet as he said his lines.

"With love's light wings did I o'erperch these walls; For stony limits cannot hold love out, And what love can do, that dares love attempt. Therefore thy kinsmen are no stop to me."

She sighed Ikuto was doing fine as always, but the play as a whole was suffering because of that girl. There was something about the way Ikuto looked at her too when he said his lines that unsettle Amu, she knew he was only acting but even so, she didn't like the thought of him professing love to this girl, even if it were only complete fantasy, she was unworthy of it all together.

Suddenly the girl spoke once more. "If they do see thee, they will murder thee."

Amu couldn't hold it in any longer, she let out a groan, "She's totally killing it!" she cried in distress, "Even I could do better than that!"  
"Then why not give it a try?" asked a sweet voice beside her.

Amu jumped with surprised and turned to find Mrs. Walker standing there, apron on and feather duster in hand. Amu shook her head, she was starting to get used to the cooky old lady, "There's no way, I have horrible stage fright, besides I'm a stagehand remember???? Not an actress."

"Oh come now deary, there's no harm in trying!" With that the woman gave her a rather forceful shove and Amu found herself stumbling onto the stage.

She gained her balance quickly and looked around to see the director and all the other actors and actresses staring at her. She bit her lip.  
"Rose?" Ikuto asked curiously.

"What, are _You_ doing here?!" came the harsh shrill of the directors voice.

Amu opened her mouth but her courage failed her.

Suddenly Mrs. Walker's voice trilled from behind the curtain, "Why she wants to try out, she wants to see if she could be Juliet!"

The director spluttered in disbelief, "Try out?" he mocked, "She's a stagehand, besides, we already have someone cast as Juliet."

Mrs. Walker's head popped out of the curtain and she looked at the director, "All she's asking for is a chance, what's the harm in that?"  
"What's the harm? It's a colossal waste of precious practice time that's the harm!"  
"Not nearly as much as the time you're spending arguing right now, just let her try."

He sighed in defeat, "Oh very well, but you've got one shot miss, and that's it."

"Uh…right…" came Amu's dazed response as a script was thrust into her hands.

"Now," the director commanded, "We'll start from Romeo's Line, "She speaks."

Ikuto just nodded, he was probably the only person who wasn't unsettled by the sudden turn of events, but then again he could just be acting like it. He turned to face Amu and started to recite. "She speaks O, speak again, bright angel, for thou art As glorious to this night, being o'er my head, As is a winged messenger of heaven Unto the white-upturned wond'ring eyes Of mortals that fall back to gaze on him When he bestrides the lazy puffing clouds And sails upon the bosom of the air."

For the first half of Ikuto's lines Amu was nothing but nervous as the butterflies decided to throw a dance party in her stomach. _Just don't think about it!_ She told herself _Just be yourself, be natural_ she somehow managed to calm herself enough to where she could actually listen to the second half of what Ikuto was saying, and then she was suddenly sucked into the world of Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare's world of the two lovers started falling into place right before her eyes, and then, the moment of truth came as the time for her line came. Amu opened her mouth and, "O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name; Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, And I'll no longer be a Capulet." Amu's heart soared within her, she had done it! It felt so wonderful, for some reason she couldn't explain she felt a deep connection between her and Juliet, as if they were the same person. She wasn't out of the woods yet, Ikuto only a short line and then she would speaking again.

"Shall I hear more, or shall I speak at this?" came Ikuto's honeyed voice.

Amu found herself saying the lines once more, this time more confidently and with even more emotion then before. She stared longingly into the audience pretending to look out over her garden as Juliet had as she continued to wonder aloud.

"'Tis but thy name that is my art thyself, though not a 's Montague? It is nor hand, nor foot, Nor arm, nor face. O, be some other name Belonging to a man. What's in a name? That which we call a rose By any other word would smell as sweet. So Romeo would, were he not Romeo called, Retain that dear perfection which he owes Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name; And for thy name, which is no part of thee, Take all myself." Amu breathed deeply after finishing her lines and grinned, knowing she had put all of herself into those lines and had done the best she could to convey the proper tone and feeling. Silence reigned for a few seconds and her nervousness came back to her, who was she to know that even though it was her best that it was good by others standards. She bit her lip and looked shyly at the director who had a rather intense and intimidating gaze locked onto her. She shrunk back a few steps. _It was horrible…I should've known I couldn't act, I don't know what I was thinking…_ she started to turn away when suddenly she was stopped by the sound of someone clapping. She looked in amazement as the director rose from his seat, broke into a huge smile and started clapping, and one by one everyone around him did the same. She looked at Ikuto incredulously this had to be a joke, he seemed to sense what she was thinking and shook his head gently as if to say, no this was no joke. She turned her attention back towards the director as the clapping slowly came to an end.

"That was….the most beautiful I have EVER seen!" he cried joyously, "I've never seen that role played with so much heart, so much emotion, you held nothing back! And the interaction between you and Jake, the chemistry, it was practically skyrocketing!" his tone rose to ecstatic. "It's simply wonderful, pure beauty, this is what real acting is all about! Congratulations miss! You are officially our new Juliet!"


	5. Chapter 5

Here you go. I really hope you guys like this chapter I spent a bit more time on it then I have done with the previous ones so hopefully it shows. Let me know what you think!

*Disclaimer* No, I do not own shugo chara

Chapter 5

Spaghetti Sauce and Break Ups

Amu couldn't believe what she was hearing, she was going to be acting now? As Juliet?! Suddenly her eyes widened and her knees grew weak. _Oh no!_ she thought to herself. _What have I gotten myself into!_ Her eyes searched over the dozens and dozens of rows of empty seats that were sure to be filled on opening night and her resolve and excitement faded dramatically. She felt light-headed and dizzy, _No way would she be able to act in front of someone people!_ Panic ensued and her heart started racing. _I HAVE TO FIND A WAY OUT OF THIS! _Her eyes got even bigger and her breathing came quickly and shallow. She was majorly freaking out, suddenly everyone was staring at her with a concerned look; she wanted to run from the stage and hide behind the curtains, but she couldn't. _Oh no…..ooooh no. This is not good._ Her vision started to get blurry, the room started to move, it was like she was swimming all of a sudden. _Not good! Not good at all!_ The edges of her vision started to turn black, she tried to fight it off but couldn't, suddenly she felt herself falling. _Oh no! I think I'm gonna….fain-_

"Amu!" Ikuto cried catching her carefully in his arms. He had been watching her carefully the whole time, ever since the color had drained from her face he had known something was up. Regardless he was still utterly lost, she just found out she was going to be playing a lead role in a play, she should be happy, however she looked anything but, in fact, she was terrified. He noticed she was starting to sway and stumble a little bit, not a very good sign, he walked towards her just in case something were to happen. He was glad he had for a few seconds later her body started to fall rapidly towards to the stage floor and she wasn't attempting to correct herself at all. He acted quickly and managed to catch her in his hands before she hit the ground. He looked down, she was out like a light. Ignoring the startled gasps and quickly spreading gossip and whispers of everyone around them he hurried from the stage and towards their room. He reached the door and not wanting to put Amu down he skillfully lifted his foot and turned the latch, the door swung open. He stepped inside and gently set her in the bed after which he took a step back and looked at her. He frowned there was something inside of him that wanted to stay, to be by her side until she woke up. Instead he turned and hurriedly made his way out of the room he shut the door behind him and paused a moment. Only couples had those kind of thoughts he reasoned _What was that? Seriously I don't care for Amu that way at all…sure she's fun to tease and make fun of, but the only reason I hang out with her is cause I'm bored and having nothing better to do, not mention I love getting under that kiddy kings skin._

He shook his head and ran his fingers through is midnight blue hair, it was a good thing he had gotten out of that room otherwise he probably would've stayed behind, he didn't understand why though, why was he feeling this way, he didn't want to think of Amu in that way. He had a hard enough time allowing himself to be friends with her considering what Easter would do if they ever found out, it'd be even worse if they ended up as boyfriend and girlfriend.

He shook his head once more and resumed his normal apathetic composure; there was just no way he felt that way about Amu, no possible way. Amu was his friend, that's all she ever was and all she would ever be. With renewed determination he headed back to the stage to finish rehearsing.

Amu didn't resume consciousness until about halfway through dinner. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked around in disorientation. _What happened?_ She thought trying to remember. _I remember…I was backstage watching Ikuto and some girl act…..they were doing Romeo and Juliet. _Her eyes widened and she sat upright

"JULIET!" she cried

_That's right….I'm going to be playing Juliet now!_

She groaned and leaned back into the bed. "Ugh….what did I get myself into?" she wondered aloud rubbing her forehead ruefully.

She sighed dramatically and rose carefully she was surprised to find that she wasn't sore at all or didn't have any bruises from falling. "That's odd…." She murmured. She moved on however and headed for the door, she opened it and looked outside and instantly was met by a warm enticing aroma coming from the dining hall.

Amu's stomach grumbled and she realized she hadn't eaten since breakfast due to being unconscious the whole time, as such she decided it would be a good idea to see if there was any food left. She let her feet go; following the scent of the food. She reached the last corner and was in such a hurry that she wasn't paying any attention to where she was going; she turned the corner and ran into something. Her eyes grew wide as she realized it was a tray with a plateful of spaghetti on it, being carried by none other than Ikuto. After that everything went so fast; it was all a blur to her. First the spaghetti was flying through the air meanwhile Amu was rebounding; stumbling backwards after which she eventually slipped and began falling backwards towards the ground. The spaghetti followed suit and landed all over Amu who was still falling; in a panic she quick reached out and grabbed hold of the nearest stable object which just happened to be Ikuto's shirt. Ikuto; being caught completely off guard by the sudden grabbing of his shirt crumbled and went crashing down with Amu.

The back of Amu's head collided the with ground and she was met with a quick explosion of pain. She winced slightly then looked up to find herself staring into a pair of gorgeous blue eyes. She turned to the left and the right only to be met on both accounts with a finely toned arm. Ikuto was hovering over her body, one hand placed on either side of her head; she realized the situation her and Ikuto were in and started turning bright red. A couple seconds ticked by and Ikuto didn't move, he just kept staring at her.

"u—u, um, Ik-Ikuto…could…could you maybe g-g-get off me n-now?" she asked infuriated by the incessant stuttering.

He looked down at her and suddenly his trademark smirk spread across his face and Amu's heart rate accelerated, she didn't dare ask what he was thinking.

"I-Ikuto?"

The smirk widened and he started leaning towards her. Amu cringed and averted her eyes she could feel him getting closer and closer to her, soon she was inhaling the sweet smell of his cologne and could feel his breathe on her; she tried to struggled out from underneath him and he paused suddenly and frowned, he started whispering pleadingly into her ear "Aww _Amu_, why are you trying to so hard to fight me, you know you want to,"

She shuddered, "a-a-actually…I-Ik-Ikuto I d-don't."

"Then tell me to stop." He told her as he grabbed her hands and pinned them above her head.

"S-s-s-s-st--sto---Stop?"

He then got even closer to her face, stopping with his own lips only a few centimeters from her mouth, and chuckled quietly. "Was that a question?" he asked breathing heavily so she could feel his breathe on her lips

"N-no" she managed quietly.

He just grinned, "I'm sorry but you're going to have to be more convincing then that _kitten_," he told her cradling her cheek in his hand, "Unless you can say it with more authority, say it like you actually mean it, I promise you I won't stop. You're the one in control here Amu, all you have to do is say it" With that said he continued to toy with her first rubbing his hand up and down her arm as she cringed "p-p-please I-kuto s-s-stop it."

He continued smirking, "Wow, if that's all you've got then you really must want me." Then he started to run his fingers through her hair.

Amu cursed inwardly and tried once more "S, S, ST,,,sto----" Try as she might it just wouldn't come out, so many emotions were coursing through her veins at the moment she could make sense of them. There was fear, annoyance and….something else, she couldn't name it though. Deisre? No! Definitely not desire. Love? Not that either, she mentally slapped herself in the head, there had to be better words to describe her emotion, something that wasn't suggesting that she actually liked the situation she was in. What was it then? Her heart was pumping, but it wasn't entirely from fear, and her cheeks were flushed, but not totally from embarrassment, at the same time she was experiencing some intense butterflies in her stomach and there was a heat in her heart that was burning bright, like a fire. Was it Passion? She wondered, it was certainly close, however that would suggest she wanted Ikuto to do whatever he was going to do to her, but she didn't, not at all, right? Right??? Suddenly she didn't know anymore, she didn't know anything. It was so unlike anything she had experienced, the fear, it wasn't a normal fear, it ran deeper than she had ever known fear to run and it wasn't a fear of danger, but rather a fear of the unknown, fear of being hurt somehow. But why? Why was Ikuto bringing out all of these emotions in her? It was like her mask had been ripped off and every emotion she could've ever felt was exposed and so much more intense than ever before.

Suddenly Ikuto leaned down and stuck his tongue out Amu flinched and turned her face away closing her eyes tight afraid of what he was going to do.

She jumped as something wet touched her neck and her eyes snapped open, she looked down to see Ikuto licking some spaghetti sauce off of her, her face turned ten shades darker "You P-P-perv-PERVERT!" she shouted and suddenly he sat up and laughed; ruffling her hair playfully "Ah my little kitten, still just as much fun to play around with as ever."

She immediately stood up fuming with anger as she looked down at him, "PLAY AROUND WITH????!!!!" she cried.

He cringed, she was pissed, not just kind of pissed either, she was really pissed.

"I don't care if you were playing or not! You can't just do that to people! Uhhhh! You are such a perverted jerk!"

He stood and shrugged it off, "I didn't see you complaining about it a few seconds ago."

She paused, "What are you talking about?"

"I told you, all you had to do was tell me to stop and I would."

Her anger immediately dulled, "Well-well that's just…cause I-I was so-so nervous I, I couldn't, couldn't really t-t-talk you see."

He started walking away. "mhm….except you could say plenty of other stuff."

She stomped after him, "That's different! I said I didn't like it okay! And I mean it, I didn't!"

"If you say so." With that he disappeared through the stage door so he could get back to practice and Amu glared at the door he had just gone through with annoyance. Letting out a frustrated sigh and shaking her head at the perverted cat she headed back to her and Ikuto's room to change out of the now spaghetti stained shirt. First she went to the bathroom though and washed it off of her face, picking off noodles and throwing them into the trash. She grabbed a washcloth and scrubbed her neck fiercely still completely grossed out by the thought of Ikuto licking it with his tongue, unfortunately no amount of scrubbing could take away the memory or the feeling of utter disgust. Reasoning with herself that dwelling on it wouldn't do her any good she forcibly pushed the memory to the back of her mind. She turned her attention to her hair and frowned at the spots where the sauce had dried and were stubbornly stuck in her hair, she soon realized that if she wanted to get it out she would have to take a shower. She turned and started the water, muttering under her breath, "that cat is so gonna pay for causing so much trouble." She didn't care anymore that it had been her thoughtlessness that had originally caused her to run into Ikuto in the first place. Eager to get all the sauce off of her she tested the water, saw it was the right temp and quickly shed her clothing. Once in the shower she basked an reveled in its warmth as it began melting away her frustrations. About 30 minutes later she was done and stepped out of the shower, grabbing a towel she dried herself off and towel dried her hair. She then got dressed in a pair of slimming light blue jeans, ones, that unlike her pair earlier didn't have any holes and weren't tattered, then she put on a long form-fitting white t-shirt with a rose design along the right side of the front of the shirt. Turning to look in the mirror she swiftly pulled her hair into a pony-tail and exited the bathroom. She glanced at the clock, it was nine o'clock which meant rehearsal should be getting done right about now. She decided to go and see if it was over so she could talk to the director about her playing Juliet. She exited the room and moved quietly down the hallway, as she neared the end Ikuto came through the door and she slowed to a stop, she wanted to still be mad at him but the truth of the matter was she was already over it, for some reason she never could seem to stay mad at him for a long time no matter what he did.

"Hey Ikuto." She called.

He paused and looked at her with surprise, "Hey," he waved.

"How was rehearsal?" she asked.

He shrugged, "Alright, nothing special. I see you managed to get all the spaghetti out alright."

"Yes, no thanks to you." Sure she had forgiven him for it, but that didn't mean she didn't still want to make him feel at least a little sorry for what he had done.

He just smiled, "I see that, good for you. Maybe next time I won't be so busy and I can offer a bit more assistance though, I'd hate for you to have to do it alone."

She started turning red at the suggestion, "n-no, no that's alright, I, I'm fine on my own…really."

He laughed, "Really Amu, you make it too easy."

Her anger flared realizing she had let him get to her again, she was about to punch him when suddenly she saw behind Ikuto and stopped mid-punch.

"Crap." She said out loud, "It's Ryan!"

She hated the thought of having to see him again, especially after she was so close to having made it through the entire day without running into him; as such she wasn't about to let him see her now. She quick ran down the hallway and jumped into the prop closet somehow pulling Ikuto inside with her.

"Wow Amu, I didn't realize you wanted to be alone with me so badly, all you had to do was tell—" the rest of what he was saying was instantly cut off as Amu pressed her hand against his mouth.

"SHHH!" she warned turning her head towards the door and listening.

A pair of footsteps approached, she looked under the door and saw Ryan's shoes stop right outside. She bit her lip and started to sweat nervously a couple seconds ticked by but it seemed so much longer to Amu. Then at last he moved on. She breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed, leaning against the wall while letting go of Ikuto at last.

He watched her in silence for a few minutes, leaning against the opposite wall, which was about 3 feet away, with his arms crossed. He shook his head and spoke, "You do realize you are going to have to face him eventually right?"

She nodded, "Of course I do….I just….don't want to until I absolutely have to."

"Amu, it's really not that big of a deal, just tell him you want to break up with him, then you won't have to worry about it anymore."

"But I could never do that!"

He stared at her in confusion, "Why not?"

"Because, he loves me, or at least whoever he thinks I am, it would break his heart if I told him I didn't want to see him anymore. We've been together a whole year!"

"He doesn't love you Amu, he wouldn't have taken advantage of you last night if he did."

"But maybe he really honestly thought I did want to kiss him."

He let out a sigh, "You, are impossible. Stop defending him, he'd have to a be complete idiot to not realize that you didn't want to kiss him, regardless, your not who he thinks you are, all you're doing by continuing to be his girlfriend is lying to him, do you really want to do that?"

Her head sunk in defeat, "No…" she mumbled.

"Good." He said "Then all you have to do is go up to him and say 'Ryan I'm sorry but I think it's time we end our relationship together, you're a great guy but you're not the one for me.' That's it, it's not that hard."

"Easy for you to say, you've probably broken up with dozens of girls."

"That doesn't matter Amu, all you have to do is say a few simple words, that's it. If you have to, use that cool and spicy tone of yours, it'll be perfect."

She groaned, "I realize that, but I don't want to hurt him."

"Why do you care, you don't even know him?"

"That's beside the point, everyone, no matter who it is, deserves to be happy."

"Amu, he'll be fine, sure he'll mope around for a week, maybe too, but I promise you, he _will_ get over it."

"How do you know?"

"I just do."

"That's not very helpful."

"Well, it's the truth, whatever happens he'll survive. You however may not if you keep this act up."

She sighed, "Alright…."

He brightened, "Good, now let's practice, pretend like I'm Ryan."

"okay…" she looked up and tried to picture him as Ryan, it didn't work too well considering the complete difference in height, hair color, eyes, and everything else that mattered. She shrugged it aside and stared at Ikuto.

"Hey Rosie whats up?" Ikuto asked putting his arm around her waist and pulling her towards him.

Amu was slightly caught off guard but forced herself to recover. "R,Ryan?" she asked.

"Yes?" Ikuto asked looking at her lovingly

"I…I, have s-something, I need t-to tell you."

"Yes, what is it?" he asked turning serious  
"I….I'm sorry but….but…."she tried to force the rest out but nothing happened, she just stood there looking like an idiot with her mouth hanging open; her nerves crumbled and groaning in defeat she walked away from Ikuto, "I can't do it!"

He frowned, "Why not?"

"I just can't! If I can't even do it with you, then how in the world will I pull it off with Ryan?"

He sighed, "Just don't think about it, just do it. Now come on, lets do it again," he told her grabbing hold of her and pulling her close like before, completely ignoring her protests.

She sighed and finally gave up resisting. "Ryan?" she asked and events played out just the same as before with Ikuto holding onto her as they were talking. Then the moment came, "I'm, I'm sorry but…but" Amu closed her eyes and focused. _Don't think, just do. Cool and Spicy._ She opened her eyes and her demeanor changed as she allowed the cool and spicy façade to take over. She stared at him quietly and said it, "Sorry but, this isn't working out for me. You're really great and all, but…you're definitely not the one for me. I think it's time we end our relationship. I'm sorry."

Ikuto decided to push her, he let his eyes start watering and his voice chocked as he spoke to her, "But…Rose, why? We've been together a whole year, why are you doing this? Why are you hurting me like this?"

Inside Amu was a mess, she wasn't sure she could handle it. Outside however she remained firm as steel. She took another deep breath and somehow kept the mask of indifference in place. "Sorry, but I just don't love you anymore, don't worry I'm sure you'll find someone else before too long."

Ikuto grinned and released her "Good!" he cried, "See! That wasn't so hard now was it?"

Amu's legs were weak as she leaned against the wall for support she glanced at Ikuto, "Are you kidding me? That was horrible!"

He shook his head, "Anyway, it's time to do it! Come on, let's get it over with before you run out of courage."

She nodded knowing he was right. She turned and grabbed the handle and pushed. Nothing happened, she pushed again but the door didn't budge.

'Uh…Ikuto…." She said worriedly, "It's not opening…."

"What? Here let me see, you're probably just not doing it right." He pushed past her and put his hand on the handle and pushed, again nothing. He tried several times with no result.

He turned back to Amu and said quietly, "Amu….It's locked."

Her eyes widened with worry.

He continued. "Everyone will be in bed by now, which means calling for help won't do anything.

Her eyes widened even more.

"Which means we'll be stuck in here for the rest of the night."

Uh-oh…looks like they're gonna be stuck in that closet for a while…..wonder what'll happen next….

Well what do you guys think? Please Review, I won't put the next one up until I get fifteen reviews, so please review so I can get the next chapter up quickly.


	6. Chapter 6

Okay guys thanks so much for the reviews! I didn't quite make it to 15 buts that's okay, I still got way more than normal, so thank you everyone who reviewed! Wow, I'm super excited for this chapter, it's by far my favorite one so far and hopefully you guys will think so too. Please Review!

*no, I don't own Shugo Chara*

Chapter 6

1 perverted cat + 1 sexy dress= lots of trouble

It was about an hour later and Amu had finally stopped freaking out. At least on the outside. It was due mostly to the fact that she had wore herself out. Ikuto had tried everything he could to calm her down but it hadn't helped in the least. He had pretty much given up after the first 15 minutes and sat back and watched as she ran from one end of the small closet to the other practically tearing her hair out. At the end of the hour she sighed and fell against the wall sliding all the way down to the floor and at last sitting. _I can't believe I'm stuck in this closet…with Ikuto!!! _She looked at him carefully and groaned _And after that stunt he pulled earlier with the spaghetti who knows what he might do to me in here! _She thought worriedly. _But then again…its really not that much different then when we share our room together…except its even better cause there's no bed. _ She breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe this wouldn't be too bad after-all.

Ikuto slowly glanced over at Amu as she sat across from him.

"You finally stop freaking out?" he asked quietly

She nodded, "I think so."

"took you long enough."

Amu just rolled her eyes at him and didn't respond. She crossed her arms in front of her and looked towards the door still wishing someone would miraculously come looking for them and open the door. Out of the corner of her eyes she saw Ikuto moving and out of curiosity she turned to look.

Her eyes widened with shock as she saw him take his shirt off.

"I-I-Ikuto!!! What are you doing??!" she cried with alarm.

He looked at her, "What? It's hot in here."

She stared at his exposed chest for a few seconds taken in by the firm abs and how truly gorgeous he looked. A blush started to form on her cheeks and she quickly shook herself out of her stupor. "S-s-so?!" she answered. "That's no reason to take your shirt off in front of a girl!"

A small smirk began to form, "What…does it make _little Amu_ uncomfortable?" he asked treating her like a child.

"N,n,no!" she stuttered hurriedly

The smirk spread 'Oh so then you like me seeing me without a shirt on?"

Her eyes widened and her blush immediately spread across her entire face. She quickly looked away from his body, "In your dreams!"

"Why not? I'm sure I'm already in yours," he told her sexily.

"Ehh??!" she cried the blush deepened until she was like a tomato. "Th-th-that's n-not t-true!"

"Are you sure?" he asked wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her tightly against his chest.

Amu tried resisting, "Ikuto!!! Let me go!!" she pressed her hands firmly against his chest in an attempt to push away from him.

He chuckled and looked down at her, "Like the way I feel?"

"WHAT???!!! NO!" she immediately put her hands down to her side leaving Ikuto to press her face against his skin.

She cursed quietly, and looked towards the heavens what did she ever do to deserve this? She sighed and in doing so inhaled the intoxicating smell of his body wash and she started to get light headed and her heart did little flip flops she tried to shake herself out of it, to focus on something else. _Why am I feeling this way? I've never before experienced such strong emotions…_

"hm, Amu, you stopped?" Ikuto frowned, "Could it be your bored with me already? Would you like to move onto something else?" he asked her suggestively.

It took her a moment to realize what that something else he was referring to and she immediately smacked him on the side of the head, "Pervert! I'm not even old enough to do something like that!"

"So, your saying if you were old enough then you would do it with me."

"NO! Not in a million years, now let me go!" she told him struggling fiercely in his grip.

He laughed and finally let her go, she immediately moved to the farthest corner and he just smiled and shook his head. He didn't know why he got so much pleasure out of teasing her like that.

He took a moment and looked around the closet, it wasn't exactly the most organized place ever. There were props everywhere, as well as some random costumes, in the corner there was a small area closed off by a curtain. He figured the closet had probably been a dressing room originally, hence the curtain and random costumes. He studied the costumes for a few minutes and suddenly his eyes lit up and he grinned mischievously.

"Hey…Amu….sorry bout earlier." He called to her.

She looked over at him but didn't say anything.

"Listen…we're going to be stuck in here for a long time, so we may as well make the most of things."

"What do you suggest?" she asked scooting down so she was once more across from him. He smiled at how easily she always seemed to forgive him.

"Why not play a game, like…." He thought for a moment, "Rock, paper, scissors?"

"Okay…" she said, out of all the games he could've picked rock paper scissors wasn't exactly one she would've thought of. But then again they were stuck in a closet so it wasn't like they had tons of options.

"Ready?" he asked her and she nodded.

"Okay then we'll do best out of three. Alright, Rock, Paper, Scissors!" as he said scissors Amu quickly switched her hand to a fist, indicating rock, while Ikuto made his scissors.

Amu smiled, "Ha! Rock beats scissors!" she cried joyfully as she playfully bopped his scissors with her rock.

Ikuto smiled, "Good job, how bout we make it a little more interesting though."

"I'm listening…." Amu replied carefully.

"Good, like I said, we're playing best out of three, so, how about if I win," he paused and reached over plucking a dress from the amidst the costumes, "Then you have to wear this." He told her tossing the dress over to her.

She caught it but didn't take much time to examine it, all she saw before putting it aside was it was very revealing, she frowned at Ikuto, "And why would I agree to do that?" she asked.

"Because, if you win, then I'll put my shirt back on."

Amu weighed her options carefully, from what she had seen the dress wasn't too too bad and she was already winning, plus, she really wanted Ikuto to put his shirt back on. Her eyes strayed back to his chest and the blush started to reform, she soon averted her gaze, change that, she didn't just want him to put his shirt back on, she needed him to.

"Alright," she said, "We have a deal, you win I wear the stupid dress, but I win, then you have to put your shirt on, _and_ stop being so perverted."

"Deal." He told her smiling secretly to himself, too bad Amu didn't realize he could read her like an open book.

With the terms set they got ready for another round, starting by staring intently at each other. The tension in the air was obvious. "Rock, Paper…Scissors!"

Amu stuck out scissors this time and Ikuto went with rock.

"Thats one win for me." He said, "Which means were tied, next time decides who wins."

Amu glanced nervously at the dress, then back at Ikuto, no way was she going to lose to a pervert like him.

Ikuto watched her and decided to prolong her agony by making the next one a tie.

"Rock, Paper, Scissors!"

Amu revealed scissors and Ikuto did likewise.

Amu sweat-dropped and felt the immense pressure of the moment. She had to win, she didn't think she could make it all night with Ikuto continuing to tease her. She took a deep breath and refocused. _I can do this!_ She told herself confidently and stared Ikuto down waiting to start.

"Rock…Paper…..Scissor!"

Amu went with Rock and Ikuto chose paper and as we all know paper covers rock.

Amu stared at their hands in disbelief. No, she couldn't have lost, she just couldn't have. She looked up to see Ikuto, holding out the dress to her an evil smirk on his face.

"Crap." Was all she said, groaning she accepted the dress and headed over to the curtain. She opened it and turned glaring daggers at Ikuto who was still smiling to himself over his victory.

Amu shut the curtain and took a closer look at the dress before wishing she was dead. Amu just had one thing to say about the dress, laces. There was lacing everywhere. She sighed why did she ever agree to this? _Oh yeah…its all cause Ikuto had to take his shirt off._ She blushed at the mental image of him shirtless and quickly pushed it aside. She stared at the dress with disdain for sometime, she knew she had to put it on, a deal was a deal but even so, she really, really, _**really**_didn't want to.

Ikuto on the other hand was getting bored with waiting, "Hurry up Amu! That is…unless you want me to put it on for you."

Amu's eyes bulged, "N,no, th-that's n-not what I w-want!"

"Then hurry up!"

"Alright alright!" she called and frowned, there was no use putting off the inevitable, she might as well get it over with.

She quickly shed her clothing and picked the dress up in her hands and slid it over her body then looked in the mirror. The dress fit her surprisingly well, it was like a glove that hugged her body close and revealed curves that she hadn't even known she had. The length was perfect too, reaching just a couple inches below her knees. The main color of the dress was black but the silky laces, of which there were many were a dark pink. The first set of laces were in the front of the dress; right across the chest area there was a rather long dip in the fabric that could only be closed up by the laces. She quickly started to lace it up, making sure to pull the laces as tight as possible, by the time she was done the gap had been sufficiently covered by the intricately woven laces. She tied an extra tight bow at the end to make sure it held together and studied herself. She was surprised to find that once the lacing was done nothing was even being exposed anymore. _Maybe this won't be so bad afterall…_ she thought to herself, as soon as she did however her focus went to the back of her dress where the second set of laces were. The dress didn't start till until mid-back and really it wasn't the dress that started there it was the laces. The laces ran from the mid-back trailing all the way down to about two inches above her tail bone. The gap in the fabric started big but came to a point at the end just like the front had. She bit her lip and twisted, trying to see the laces properly in the mirror so she could weave them in and out of the loops provided.

After about five minutes of trying, and failing Amu gave up and sat on a tall pile composed of clothing and other random stuff in the closet. She rested her chin in the palm of her hand and chewed at her lip. It was official, there was no way she could lace the back of the dress by herself, it simply wasn't possible. Which meant….she would have to have help…from Ikuto. She shook her head there was no way she would let that pervert help her. He would no doubt do all kinds of perverted things to her. She looked at the back of the dress again, if the laces had gone any further down they would've started revealing her butt. She didn't care if it was technically covered just the thought of Ikuto putting his hands anywhere near there made her shudder. She shook her head, as much as she hated the thought there really wasn't any other way though. She took a deep breathe and exhaled nervously.

Sticking her head out of the curtain once more she spoke, "um…Ikuto?" she asked

His eyes were closed and he opened one of them to look at her, "yeah?"

"Um…I, uh…need some…help." She whispered quietly.

"What?" he asked opening his other eye. Did she just ask for his help? No, he must have been hearing things.

She cleared her throat and said it again, this time a little louder. "I said..I…need…help."

He blinked a few times as he struggled to process what she was saying. After a few seconds he stood and walked over to her in a daze without saying anything. Clearly he hadn't expected this…what was Amu trying to pull?

He followed her behind the curtain before finally speaking, "um…okay, what do you need?" he asked still confused.

She frowned, "Before I tell you, you HAVE to promise you won't do anything perverted or inappropriate okay?"

He blinked once more, now he really wanted to know what she wanted. "Okay..yeah sure." He said.

He watched as she let out a sigh of a relief, she was definitely stressed out about something.

"I'm only asking you because there is absolutely no way I can do it myself…" she started, "So don't get any ideas alright?"

"alright…" he said, he still didn't know what she was referring to.

"And if you try anything, anything at all, then I promise you you'll seriously regret it!"

He nodded, man he wished she would spit it out already.

"Alright…" she said slowly. She looked at him for a few moments still unsure if she had made the right choice. She was asking a lot of Ikuto, she was asking him to be far more serious and mature than he had ever been, she was pretty sure he could handle it, but then again…she had been wrong about him before. And this was one of those situations she couldn't afford to be wrong. Oh well…there was only one way to find out.

"I…can't get the laces…." She told him as she slowly turned around revealing her backside to him.

Ikuto's eyes widened as he saw the large amount of bare skin. He swallowed carefully, as his hormones started to kick in. What was Amu thinking, asking him to help with the laces? No guy in his right mind could withstand the sight of Amu standing there like that, so vulnerable, so innocent, so…tempting. Didn't she know better than to ask something like that of him? He frowned, of course she did, but really she had no choice, as she had said, there was no way she could've done the laces herself. He set his jaw, now he understood why she had been so serious. He took in a shaky breathe, Amu was asking a lot of him, knowing full well just what he could do to her in that moment. He stared at her, he wanted to do so much with her that it hurt, he wanted to hold her tenderly in his arms and never let go, to kiss her passionately, to……Ikuto immediately shook his head and diverted his eyes, what was he thinking, this was Amu, his _friend_, just cause she was drop-dead gorgeous and standing in front of him barely clothed, and they were alone did not mean he should be having these kinds of thoughts. She was his friend, not his lover, and as a friend she was asking him for a very huge favor, he was determined to prove to her that he could do this. He took a deep breathe and prepared himself mentally. He turned back to Amu and reached out with shaky hands, "I'm gonna start at the bottom, and work my way up okay?" he told her quietly, "That way you can get the worst of it out of the way." Yes, he was aware of just how far that lacing went down and just how close it was to her…behind. He was also of aware of how nervous she had to be about him doing this so he was doing his best to comfort her.

She nodded slowly in response to what he said. With that Ikuto laid hold of the silk lace and gingerly thread it through the first two holes, then the third, and the fourth, all the while his hands continued to shake. He took a moment to tighten the bond between the two sides of fabric and was relieved to see how well it concealed what was beneath. Soon after that his hands stopped shaking and he hurriedly continued to lace up the rest of the dress. He finally finished and took a step back smiling, he had done it. It was probably the hardest thing he had ever done, but he had done it. With the danger passed Ikuto allowed himself to relax and suddenly the smirk reappeared on his face. He had proved himself and now it was time for him to go back to teasing.

"Almost done Amu…just hold still for one more second…" he told her reaching into his pocket.

"Okay," she replied, he could hear the renewed comfortableness in her voice and was glad to know she was once more calm.

He pulled the device from his pocket and suddenly Amu heard a clicking sound.

She turned around, "Ikuto…what was that?" she asked. Her eyes fell on the camera phone in Ikuto's hand just as another click went off. Then it hit her, he was taking pictures of her!

"IKUTO!" she screamed, "YOU PERVERT!" she went to snatch the phone from his hands but he pulled it away at the last minute. He looked down at her his eyes sparkling with playfulness. "Awww….is this how you thank me for helping you with your dress?" he asked.

Amu paused a moment and checked the mirror to see if he had finished lacing before taking the picture, she calmed down, at least he had the decency to do that. She turned around and Ikuto was gone.

She cursed and slid the curtain aside as Ikuto hurried to the other end of the closet. She had no idea where he was planning to go, it was a small closet so he couldn't expect to avoid her. Regardless she didn't let him get any further, without thinking she jumped after him, tackling him to the ground.

Ikuto hit the ground with a thud and Amu came down with him, it was the spaghetti incident all over again except this time Amu was on top and she was wearing a dress and Ikuto wasn't wearing a shirt. Immediately the tension and nervousness that had been there at the beginning of the lacing session was thrust back into place as the two stared into each others eyes with complete shock. Amu started blushing as Ikuto struggled to keep the hormones in check. Why had he asked her to wear that stupid dress anyway? So far it had caused him a whole lot more trouble than it had her. He suddenly realized how close their faces were, or more importantly, their lips. Ikuto had never noticed how tantalizing those lips truly were, or how wonderful the smell of her strawberry shampoo was. He bit his lip and shut his eyes. _No, no NO! _ _Amu's my friend, I don't have any feelings of love towards her at all. NONE. Then why the heck am I so nervous right now? Why is my heart being at a 100 miles an hours? Why is it I can't stop thinking about kissing her right now? No, there's no way I'm falling for her, no possible way. I can't be. _He groaned internally. Who was he kidding? He'd fallen alright, and he'd fallen hard. Somewhere along the way, between all the fighting, and teasing and the games he'd fallen for her. There was just one problem though. Easter. Easter would do one of two things. One, they would use Amu against him to make him search for the embryo, or two, they would do everything possible to tear the two of them apart, even if it meant killing Amu. He shook his head, neither options were the least bit appealing. More than anything in the world he didn't want Amu to be hurt on his behalf, he could never forgive himself if that were to ever happen. He had to stop this, soon, before these feelings turned into something dangerous, into something like love.

Suddenly Amu finally managed to come out of her state of complete shock. _Took her long enough._ He muttered to himself and she immediately got off of him, moving herself to the other side of the closet "S,s, so-sorry Ikuto…" she stuttered, "I, g-guess I was just so surprised that my b-brain wasn't really w-working there for a few minutes," she smiled innocently noticing his sudden seriousness and thinking it was directed at her.

"Its fine…" he said quietly.

She looked surprised by his response, but he didn't care. She had probably expected him to say something perverted but he didn't, he couldn't do that anymore, he had to start being more serious about this whole thinking of her strictly as a friend thing and perversion wasn't going to help that.

He breathed in and out slowly, doing his best to focus on anything and everything but Hinamori Amu. He studied the room carefully and before too long knew of everything that was inside of it. All the while Amu watched him quietly from the safety of her corner.


	7. Chapter 7

Hey Readers, well, here's the newest chapter, it's a little shorter than the rest, but I'm sure you guys will like it. Thanks for all the wonderful reviews, they warm my heart so much to read and are a major source of encouragement and motivation when I write, so thanks to everyone who's been reviewing and please keep it up, its greatly appreciated!

Chapter 7

Providing Comfort and Distraction

Amu couldn't stand the silence any longer. Ikuto hadn't said a word for a half hour at least, if not longer and it was driving her insane.

"Ikuto?" she called quietly, "Is…everything okay?"

He looked up at her "Yeah I'm fine…" he wanted to take the focus off of him so he posed a question, "So…you get stage fright, don't you?"

She nodded, "Yeah, how did you know?"

"really, Amu? You were shaking the entire time you were on stage with me and then after that you went pale as a ghost and fainted…what else would it be?"

"Oh…right."

"So…why? Why are you so afraid of being on stage?"

She shrugged, "I don't know, I'm just shy I guess, same reason I hate standing in front of the class, or giving speeches. Why do you think I came up with the whole 'cool and spicy' attitude anyway? I didn't know what else to do…"

"Why couldn't you just do that on stage?"

"I could maybe…but it's different, cool and spicy is only one way of acting, I don't know if I can alter it to different forms. I mean…no one would want a cool and spicy Juliet, it would have to be a lovesick Juliet."

"Yeah, so, if you could come up with cool and spicy I'm sure you could come up with beautiful and graceful."

She shrugged, "maybe, regardless, I'd rather not try."

"So then, you'd rather we go back to using that other girl we had before?" he asked, "She brings the whole play down, I'll never know what the director was thinking when he picked her."

"Well…no…." she frowned, she didn't like where this argument was going.

"Then why not at least give it a try?" he asked her.

She sighed, "there are plenty of reasons not to."

"Yeah, like, you're a scaredy-cat with no backbone what-so-ever."

"That's not true!" she told him strongly

"Then prove me wrong. Accept the role, be Juliet!"

"But…but…."

"But what Amu?"

She sighed…."alright fine…I'll _try_ it. No guarantees."

He smirked to himself, once again he proved he could get her to do whatever he wanted. He paused suddenly though and his smirk faded it looked as if it was going to be harder to change his habits then he thought. He frowned and ended the conversation there. Once again silence ensued between the two of them.

That was when it began. It was subtle at first, so much so that the two students didn't even notice it at first. It started out as a dull humming sound, after a few minutes it grew to a buzz at which point they started to take note.

"What is that?" Ikuto asked looking around for the source of the sound, it was difficult for him to pinpoint; the sound, it seemed to be coming from all directions at the same time. He looked towards Amu who was struggling to cover up the fear she was clearly feeling as a result of the sound. "Its…probably just the wind…or something," she muttered softly.

**********************************************

"How's the operation going, Hikari?"

A black haired woman turned to face the blonde haired man who was posing the question. "So far so good, the one is progressing surprisingly well…on the other hand, the other one…." She sighed and turned her attention back to the data screens and video camera images, "well, let's just say the other one is needing a little more encouragement…."

The man frowned, "I see, that is…unfortunate. Have you decided what method you are going to use yet?"

Hikari nodded and showed him her plan.

He looked it over a moment before responding "It's a bit direct…and will assuredly be difficult for the participant….however it will most definitely be effective. If this doesn't get things moving, then I don't know what will."

Hikari agreed, "I know it will be stressful, most likely for the both of them, however it is by far the most effective procedure, it is in our brokenness that we are most vulnerable, and those moments are what create the highest opportunity and chance of success for what we wish to achieve."

"Indeed, there is a certain truth to what you say, very well, you have my permission to continue with the procedure."

*************************************************

Meanwhile about ten minutes had gone by for amu and Ikuto and the "wind" had intensified into a roar, a few more minutes and it was howling, no, shrieking. Ikuto looked back to Amu to find that she had pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, she was shaking. Her head rested on her knees while her eyes were closed.

"Amu…" he called out to her.

She didn't move, not in the least.

Ikuto started to get worried. "Amu…what's wrong?"

As he stared at her something slid down her cheek, Ikuto's eyes widened, a tear?

"Amu!" he called louder, his voice was drowned out by the shrieking sound. He looked up, it was like a tornado, only worse. It sounded like a host of trains were coming right at them and were close enough to touch. Such a violent sound…could it be….a hurricane? He wondered, of course, what else could make that kind of sound, he glanced back towards the pink-haired little girl. She hadn't improved in the least. _She must be afraid of hurricanes…._ He thought to himself.

Groaning he shifted himself over to her side and put an arm around her, just holding her, letting her know he was there, trying to stop the shaking. He knew it probably wasn't a good idea, that it was completely against his desire to distance himself from her, but he didn't have a choice. He couldn't just sit there and watch her like that, no one with a heart could, even as a friend it was perfectly appropriate to help in such a traumatic time. Traumatic was the perfect way to describe it, Amu was falling apart right in front of him, the shaking had spread to her entire body and that single tear had grown into a river of tears. Not knowing what else to do he simply sat there for a long time and held her in his arms. It didn't seem to help however. The hurricane came closer to the building and Ikuto could swear he felt the building quaking for a moment as the sound grew to unimaginative levels. He felt Amu flinch when this happened. The rushing sound of the wind was everywhere, completely surrounding them and there was no way to block it out, the building groaned under the weight of it, and even Ikuto was starting to get worried about it. Amu just kept getting worse she was sobbing now and saying something. Ikuto bent closer to hear what she was saying. "No…no….Koji!"

He raised an eyebrow, who was Koji? He looked back to Amu.

"Koji come back! No…..NO!" Amu's eyes snapped open suddenly and the amount of horror in those eyes nearly broke Ikuto's heart. The horror soon faded to raw pain and heartache. He pulled her close to him, wrapping her in his arms as the shakes increased. Ikuto's chest was throbbing, he couldn't bear to see her like this. He felt so helpless, he was desperate to help her, but there was nothing he could do. There was no possible way to distract her from something as major as a hurricane….unless. An idea started to form in the back of his mind. No! he quickly shoved it away. It would only serve to further upset her, not help. Besides, that would definitely not be something to encourage friendship. He looked back down at her and struggled internally, it wasn't like there was anything else he could do. Even if it did upset her, the anger she directed at him just might be the only possible thing in the world that could distract her. Besides, with the state she was in there was a chance that maybe, just maybe she wouldn't remember it tomorrow. He sighed and pulled her away from his chest and looked down at her tear-stained face, it was like digging a dagger deeper and deeper into his heart. That's it, he had to do it, there was just no way he could let her go on like that. He reached down and gently wiped the tears from her eyes and brushed her hair behind her ear as he cupped her cheek in his hand. She stared at him with that same look of unbearable suffering as before as he leaned down towards her. He paused and hesitated a moment, his heart pounding uncontrollably, it seemed even louder than the raging winds of the hurricane. He looked back to Amu and with renewed determination closed the gap. Their lips collided as they kissed and for the first time in his life Ikuto felt joy. Sheer joy, completely unhindered by sorrow as all the pain that he had felt watching Amu suffer was washed away. He refused to give into that joy however, after a short seconds he pulled away and looked at Amu with concern filled eyes. Wondering if it had helped in anyway. Her eyes softened and he watched the pain disappear from them, for the first time in what seemed like forever there was recognition in her eyes, she was back in the present, her eyes locked with his as they slowly started to fall closed. "Ikuto…." She murmered softly then collapsed from exhaustion.

Ikuto breathed a sigh of relief, he was relieved to know that he had made the right decision, that he had been able to help Amu. He looked at her sleeping form and breathed easily. That's when he knew, that no matter what, he wanted to always be by her side, to protect her. He didn't want her to have to hurt any more, he didn't want her to have to go through anything alone, he wanted to be the one there for her, to hold her whenever she cried. He wanted to take her darkest days and sprinkle a ray of sunlight on them. He wanted to be that person who could make her laugh, even on days when all she wanted to do was cry. He sighed, what had he gotten himself into? Why on earth had he allowed himself to kiss her, it broke out against all sound judgment whatsoever, he should've known what would happen to him after the kiss. What was he thinking? Easter would never allow it. No matter how he tried, or how it hurt, him and Amu could never be, not in a world where Easter existed. He pounded his fist against the wall and cursed fate that had tied him to that horrible company. He sighed, what he wanted right now, more than anything was for things to stay the way there were. It was a fantasy, he knew it, but a wonderful one at that. He wanted to stay with Amu, forever, in this theatre house, where they were safe and completely untouched by Easter. Yes, he wanted it more than anything he had ever wanted. He shook his head, maybe they couldn't stay there forever, but the least he could do, was make the most of the time he had. With that he turned his attention back to Amu, realizing she must be cold in only a dress he grabbed his shirt that had long since been abandoned and put it on her. Smiling to himself in satisfaction he rested his head against the wall. Regardless of this hurricane and regardless of what Easter had planned for him once he was out of here, right now, Amu was sleeping peacefully, she was safe, and free of sorrow, and that, was all that mattered.


	8. Chapter 8

Okay wow, this one's a little long, and kinda intense. Sorry. It ended up going a different route then what I planned but hopefully you guys will like it. Also, Amu and Ikuto are a little out of character and emotional in this one, once again, sorry but it just kinda happened, they'll be more back to normal in the next one, I promise.

Please review!

*nope I don't own shugo chara*

Chapter 8 ~ Acting vs. True feelings

Amu blinked a few times and looked around in bewilderment. She saw a curtain diagonal from her, a pile of clothes across from her and a shelf full of props to her left. She blinked a couple more times as she took it all in. She was in the prop closet, she had been locked in there earlier with Ikuto. Speaking of Ikuto, where was he? She turned her head to the right only to end up with a mouthful of hair. She spluttered a few times and pulled her head back to see mess of midnight blue hair. She realized that her and Ikuto had been leaning against each other, her head originally propped on his shoulder, under his chin, while his had been resting gently atop her own pink hair. Now that she had moved her head however Ikuto's head flopped to the side, resting against the wall. She breathed a sigh of relief, he was still asleep and quietly scooted a more appropriate distance. She looked around for a few seconds, trying to recall the events of last night. She had originally ducked into the closet to escape detection from Ryan only to later on end up locked in there. After that Ikuto had conveniently gotten hot and removed his shirt. She glanced at him, he was still shirtless, she stared for a few seconds, then forced herself to look away. She surveyed the room, looking for the shirt, she frowned, as far as she could tell the shirt wasn't even in the room. Suddenly she looked down. "Oh." She said out loud. "There it is…." She rubbed the back of her neck with embarrassment, how could she not have realized she was wearing Ikuto's shirt? The sleeves were ridiculously long on her, and thus very noticeable, not to mention the distinct smell of Ikuto that was floating from it. But why did she have his shirt on? She didn't recall putting it on at all. She shook her head, attempting to clear the confusion as she continued going through the events of the night. After taking his shirt off they had ended up in an epic battle of Rock Paper Scissors. Amu blushed, feeling a little odd for referring to something like Rock, Paper, Scissors, as epic, but it was true, the stakes had been high. In the end she was forced to wear the black dress with silk laces. She shuddered at the memory but then softened, Ikuto had handled it surprisingly well. Sure, he had gone and pulled the picture stunt at the end, but ultimately, he couldn't have dealt with the rest of it any better. She breathed a sigh of relief, she had learned something, Ikuto really wasn't all that horrible when it came down to it, he did have a mature side, and she knew she could rely on him in moments of great need, and for her that was important. She had very few people she knew, if any that she could trust, whom she could really rely on. Of course she wasn't referring to asking for help with anymore dresses, hardly, but somehow she knew, even if there didn't seem to be much of a connection, that she could rely on him when life got hard, when all she wanted to do was give up, he would be the one to help her up. She paused, what was she thinking? Where were these thoughts taking her? She suddenly realized that she didn't want to know where the thoughts led, she would much rather ignore them for now, she didn't want to pursue them any further. She pushed the thoughts from her mind and proceeded to go over the rest of the night. After successfully putting on the dress the two had remained in, what Amu felt, was a rather awkward silence. They had talked for a short while and she had hoped the weird sort of tension that had somehow appeared would go away but it hadn't, the conversation had ended abruptly. Ikuto had been acting strange to say the least, quiet, and if possible, completely unperverted, not that she missed him doing all that stuff, but it worried and confused her, she still didn't understand it. And then after that….she paused a moment trying to remember what happened after that, it was all a little hazy to her. She sought the answer for some time and suddenly her eyes widened with remembrance. She clutched her knees once more.

"The hurricane…." She whispered so low, even she could barely hear it. She scrunched her eyes tight and fought back the wave of memories that threatened to overwhelm her. No, she wouldn't allow herself to think of that horrible day, so long ago. She couldn't, she honestly couldn't, not without allowing herself to be completely one-hundred percent broken and vulnerable at the same time. She forced her eyes open. Somehow, she had fallen asleep during the hurricane, it was all a blur once the hurricane started though, she couldn't make sense of it all. She looked over at Ikuto. He had done something, that helped her relax and fall asleep. But what she didn't know, she had never been able to relax during a hurricane, not since….regardless, she couldn't possible imagine what he had done. She subconsciously lifted her hand and brushed her fingers against her lips. She shrugged, whatever he had done she was grateful, beyond words. She leaned against him, as she had been when first waking up and closed her eyes once more. She felt remarkable comfortable, right there, sitting there, leaning against Ikuto. She wanted to let that moment last forever, she wanted to continue feeling like that as long as she could. But she couldn't understand why, and that's what bothered her most. She wanted to know why she felt so safe and comfortable with him, no, she needed to know.

She was jarred from her thoughts however as suddenly she heard the rattling of the door knob. Her eyes snapped open and zeroed in on the door as hope of rescue took flight. The knob jiggled a little then with a _creeeeak_, the door opened painfully slow. She was so happy, she no longer had to be stuck in this closet, her eyes waited eagerly for her savior to appear from behind the door. When he did, he heart sank.

"Ryan?" she murmured quietly.

He walked in and turned, his eyes fell on Amu and Ikuto and they bulged, Amu was convinced that if it were possible for someone's eyes to fall out of socket from shock, that would've been exactly what happened. She cringed, then realized how she and Ikuto must look.

"ROSIE! What's going on?!" Ryan demanded. The loudness of his voice startled Ikuto awake, but he wasn't one of those people who was instantly alert, he was still trying to gather all his senses when Ryan continued.

"Seriously, I know you guys are cousins and all, but no way, this is too much! Even for cousins! First off, why are you two in a closet, together, as in, alone, and Secondly, Rose, why are you wearing his shirt?!"

Amu blushed tremendously, her heart rate took off with panic, she couldn't handle the pressure, "Um…um, Uh…." She tugged the shirt off and hurriedly shoved it at Ikuto, he accepted it with a yawn and slid it over his exposed chest, "Um..well….y-you see…." Amu struggled valiantly but in the end failed miserably. After all, what possible excuse could she come up with for something like that?

"Stop stuttering and answer my question," Ryan told her, grabbing hold of her arm and pulling her up so that she was standing, "And what's with this dress?" he turned her to the right slightly to get a better look at it, glimpsed the back and did a double take, spinning her around completely, "How…did you lace that?" he asked.

Amu's face turned ten shades darker as she struggled not to make eye contact with Ikuto after the comment and give it away. She stared at the ground.

"Well Rosie? Are you going to answer me or not?"

She looked up at his anger filled face, she wanted to, she really did, she just didn't know how. She opened her mouth to speak, but was stopped as Ikuto grabbed her and jerked her backwards, so she was along side him. Apparently he had finally truly woken up. She watched as he glared intensely at Ryan, the two of them participated in a silent challenge of wills for a short while and Amu just watched as the tension escalated.

Ikuto reached out and ruffled Ryans hair, roughly though, not at all to be mistaken as a friendly way. He left his hand there and his expression hardened, "Rosie, doesn't want to answer you. So just leave her alone."

Ryan's temper flared dangerously. "And who are you to tell me what to do?"

Ikuto smirked and Amu took a step back, sensing that something bad was about to happen. Ikuto wasn't exactly happy, she couldn't tell if it was cause he had just woken up or what, but the guy was mad. He grabbed a fist-full of Ryan's shirt and jerked him towards him.

"Who am I?" he seethed, "I'm the guy who is going to make your life a living nightmare if you don't leave her alone." He suddenly shoved Ryan forcibly into the wall and pinned him there, "This has nothing to do with her. It's not her fault._ I'm_ the one who got us locked in here, _I'm_ the one who took my shirt off, _I'm _the one who laced her dress, and _I'm _the one who ki---" Ikuto cut himself short, glancing worriedly at Amu, did she know, about the kiss? He doubted it, regardless, no need to bring it up now. He refocused on Ryan, "So, if you've got a problem, take it up with _me_ not _her._ Got it!"

Ryan swallowed carefully and nodded slowly, Ikuto released him and backed away, his temper fading quickly, "Now get out of here, and don't mention it to anyone else."

Ryan said nothing, he looked at Amu for a long time, trying to understand it. Finally he just shook his head and turned around; brushing shoulders with Ikuto as he headed out.

Once he was gone Amu breathed a sigh of relief and rested her wobbly legs against the wall. She looked at Ikuto "That….wasn't very good." She said quietly.

He agreed, "No, it wasn't, but I don't really care. I wasn't just going to let him bully you like that, besides, you were drowning, would you have rather I had stayed silent?"  
Amu's mind quickly found itself back to that place of pure panic and uncertainty, she immediately shook her head, "no…no, that's okay…your interjection was good….but….did you have to tell him about the laces?" she asked with a hint of embarrassment.

He smirked playfully, "Of course I did, and don't forget I have pictures on my phone to show everyone."

"You wouldn't!" she cried in alarm.

"I would. But only cause I want the world to know how beautiful you are. Now come on, lets get out of here," he told her grabbing her by the hand and pulling her from the closet.

Amu followed in a somewhat stunned silence. _Only cause I want the world to know how beautiful you are…._ Since when did Ikuto say stuff like that? She was still contemplating it when they reached the room.

"Why don't you change in the bathroom, while I change out here," Ikuto told her.

She nodded, grabbed some clothes and headed for the bathroom. She shut the door tightly behind her and turned to face the mirror.

She frowned, she looked like a wreck. Her hair was a mess, and her eyes were puffy from crying, overall she look exhausted, both mentally and physically. She leaned against the sink and turned the water on, splashing her face a few times, she wiped it off with a towel and rechecked her appearance, it was better but still not great. She sighed, there wasn't much else she could do, she wanted to take a shower but knew she didn't have the time, practice was going to start any minute.

"I'm done," came Ikuto's voice from the other side of the door, letting her know it was safe to exit once she was ready.

She acknowledged him and hurried to finish up. She stepped out of the black dress, glad to be rid of it and changed into jeans and a white halter top, lastly she slid a headband over her head and was at last satisfied with her appearance.

She left the bathroom to find Ikuto waiting for her, it surprised her, "Ikuto, what are you doing? Why didn't you go to practice yet?"

He shrugged, "I figured I'd wait for you," he said heading for the door. "Besides, I wanted to make sure you remembered what you said last night."

Amu paused mid-step, last night? What did she say last night?

Ikuto pulled the door open, she followed him through it, "About Juliet," he started, "Remember, you said you'd at least give it a try."

"Oh! That!" she smiled with relief, "Yeah, no worries I remember."

"Good."

The two arrived at practice a little while later, it turned out they were only about 10 minutes late, so no one had even really missed their presence, they were still setting up and getting ready. It turned out that today they were going to be practicing Princess Bride first, then they would have lunch break and after that, it would be Romeo and Juliet for the rest of the day. Amu headed backstage and slumped atop the prop table with a sigh. Ikuto started rehearsing for Princess Bride and Ryan was once again nowhere to be found, which was a relief to Amu, but at the same time a problem since that meant she had nothing to do but think about her current situation. What had she been thinking when she told Ikuto she would give acting a try? There was no way she could do it. It took enough effort for her to maintain the cool and spicy attitude throughout the school day, trying to be Juliet would no doubt be even harder and more exhausting. She groaned and rubbed her forehead in frustration, despite all that, there was no way out of it, Ikuto wasn't about to let her back out.

With Amu's thoughts of being Juliet filling her mind and Ikuto focused on practicing the first half of the day went by fast, before they knew it, it was lunch time.

During lunch Amu simply picked at her food and pushed it around her plate, she wasn't in the mood for eating, she was still too worried about acting in front of everyone.

Ikuto shook his head and poked her in the side, she jumped upright and glared at him, "Ikuto! What was that for?!"

He grinned, "Lighten up," he told her, "Your way too worried about this whole romeo and Juliet thing."

"But…it's not like it's easy for me to do…"

He sighed, "your ridiculous…" he muttered under his breath, "Come on Amu, it's easy, in some ways it's like when your cool and spicy, but in other ways it's not. Yes it's the same concept of cool and spicy, of focusing on being a certain way and then repeatedly behaving that way, but it's different. It won't be pretending."

Amu stared at him, "What do you mean it won't be acting?"

He shrugged, "Ultimately the choice is yours, it could be acting, if that's how you want it, but if you don't want it that way, then all you have to do is study Juliet, know everything there is to know about her character, find something about her that you can connect with, and focus on that. Sure, you've never been in the same situation as her, but the emotions, the feelings, those are universal. Even on the smallest level you've been able to feel what she has felt, you've felt happiness, and sadness, and anything else Juliet may have felt. In which case, you won't be acting, you'll only be amplifying your own emotions. In truth, that is what real acting is."

Amu thought about it for a moment, "So then…is that how you act, when you're on stage?"

He contemplated it, "Yes and no…for the most part, pretending doesn't bother me, I'm used to it, but there are times when I have been able to find some connection between me and the character and have played off that."

She nodded, "So then…maybe I can be Juliet after all!" she brightened.

"Good," he said, "Cause you've only got about 15 minutes left!"

At that she panicked and hurriedly finished her lunch. She finished just as it was time to go rehearse.

To be honest the rehearsal started out a little rocky, saying that one should connect with a character in a play through emotions is one thing, but doing it is another. And before she could do any of that Amu had to first learn to get rid of her nervousness. After the painstaking first half hour or so things went a little better, Amu had finally managed to push aside the fear and focus. She still wasn't perfect, she hadn't figured out how to connect just yet, but even so, it was an improvement. All in all they had rehearsed about 2 ½ hours. They had just begun working on Romeo and Juliet the other day, so most people still hadn't read through all of their scripts, as a result the practice went rather slow, with the actors and actresses having to do almost everything several times over. They had gotten through two scenes. The first was Romeo and Juliets first meeting at the party and the second was Tybalt and Romeos fateful duel. After that the director suddenly called an end to the practice early and let everyone leave. Except for Amu and Ikuto.

Amu was immediately worried that he was mad at how horrible she had done at acting. Later on, she could only wish that's what he wanted to talk about.

She and Ikuto stood on stage looking out at the director who was sitting in the audience staring intently at them. He stared for a few minutes and a painful silence followed. Amu bit her lip and kicked at the floor with her shoe, Ikuto on the other hand stared around the room in indifference.

Finally the man leaned forward and stood making his way up the stairs to the stage and coming to a stop in front of them."As you two both know," he began, "in Romeo and Juliet, the characters Romeo and Juliet are madly in love with each other. Now, in order for this play to go well, and for the audience to really like it and get sucked in, we have to make it look as real as possible," he broke into a silly grin, "And that, is what we are going to do now. You two get to learn how to look like you're in love."

Both reacted in their own ways. Amu sweat-dropped and Ikuto gave the slightest hint that he was actually interested in what was being said.

"Wh…what…but…h-how…" was all Amu managed to force out.

"Don't worry, we'll start small," he assured her. "First, why don't you two hug."

Amu and Ikuto looked at each other and blinked.

"Um….okay…." they said and moved hesitantly towards each other.

The director shook his head, "You guys are cousins right? Come on, you must have hugged countless times!"

"R, Right…" Amu mumbled looking at Ikuto. She didn't understand why it was suddenly so awkward, they had hugged before…right?

They looked at each other and finally closed the distance between themselves and hugged briefly, they started to pull away when the director appeared and held them there.

"Just stay like that for a moment," he told them. He circled around a few times, then spoke, "Okay, now change the hug from a 'we're cousins and haven't seen each other in a long time' hug, to a 'we're lovers who are desperately in love, and never want to separated,' hug"

"Okay…." Amu said quietly. How was she supposed to do that? She looked up at Ikuto he didn't seem to be sure either, in the end all they did was hug each other even tighter.

The director, whose name was Jeff (sorry, I got tired of calling him 'the director') sighed and rubbed his forehead in weariness…"You guys are going to take a lot more work then I thought…" he took a deep breath and looked at them with renewed determination, "Okay, lets do this!" with that he went to work on turning their hug into a hug of two people in love. He moved Ikuto's arms from Amu's shoulders and lowered them to her waist, took Amu's arms and clasped them around Ikuto's neck, pushed their bodies as close together as possible, and thanks to the height difference he tilted Ikuto's head down slightly, and Amu's upward so that they were staring into each other's eyes. While Jeff stepped back and marveled at his work Amu's blinked a few times and stared at Ikuto, her heart was pounding inside her chest, she was convinced he could hear it. But why was she suddenly so flustered, it was just…acting…right? She did her best to avoid Ikuto's eyes as long as she could, however in a moment of weakness she looked at them and found herself mesmerized by them. They were so….beautiful, no gorgeous. They matched his hair wonderfully and sparkled in the stage light. They were eyes of incredible depth, she felt that, by looking at his eyes she could see into his very heart, and there, she saw, for the very first time something she had never seen before. The sadness…it was gone. That little fleck of sorrow that she had always been able to detect in the corner of his eyes, had disappeared, but what did that mean?

On the other hand Ikuto was staring down at her, struck by her beauty, by how great it felt, to be able to hold her in his arms, he truly didn't want to ever let her go. He would give anything, to be able to stay like that forever, to be able to hold her in his arms for all of eternity. He could think of no better way to spend eternity, then with her by his side. It wasn't just a longing, it was a need. It was as if his heart, would shatter into a thousand pieces if he ever had to go through another day without her. He needed her, more than anything in the world, she brought him such peace and comfort, and joy, the like of which nothing had ever been able to touch. Nothing he had ever done, no one he had ever known had been able to make him feel, the way that he felt now, holding Amu in his arms. He saw that she was staring at his eyes, and so, he looked back and stared into her honey-colored ones and was immediately lost himself in them.

The director stood back, a smile spreading across his face as he watched the two of them. It was the most beautiful site he had ever seen, in all his life. He had never seen anyone with the ability to act that way, it was….incredible. Even he was struggling to grasp the fact it was only acting. If he didn't know they were cousins then he would be convinced, beyond a shadow of doubt, that those two her in love. He grinned widely and started to clap for them. "Wonderful!" he declared. "Absolutely wonderful! I had my doubts! But now, I'm convinced! You two are perfect!"

Just like that the trance was broken, the magical moment between them was over. They looked at him, waiting for him to continue.

"Okay, so you know how to look hopelessly in love," he stated, "Now let's see you sorrowful in love, let's see the moment where, at the height of all their love, Romeo murders Tybalt and is banished, never again to see Juliet. The two meet, but the meeting is too short, for two so in love, and Juliet is called away," he informed them, " Now this time let's try actually acting this one through, instead of just having you work on a pose, I want you to piece together a scene for me. I'll get you started, after that, go with the flow, don't worry about lines, just make it up as you go."

He cleared his voice "Juliet!" he cried, "Juliet where are you!"

Amu and Ikuto were still more or less in their hugging pose when Jeffs voice called to them as Juliets nurse. Amu remembered the scene and knew how she should respond, more or less.

She tensed at the call and turned to Ikuto, "Romeo….I, I have to go." She let go of his neck and turned from him.

Ikuto's eyes widened as she pulled away from him, his dream was slowly fading away. Her body heat left him as well as that sense of happiness he felt when she was with him. Reality hit him like a bolt of lightning, everything that had just happened…that was all just acting. Amu hadn't really felt that way about him, that adoring look her eyes, it was just for show, the way she had held onto him and pulled him close when they hugged, it wasn't real, it wasn't out of her own desire to hold him, she didn't feel that same need he had, she didn't need him by her side always and forever. After this rehearsal was over, they would go back to exactly the same as before, and nothing would have changed, because in her eyes nothing had happened, in her eyes it was only acting. The thought hurt, it was like a dagger to the heart. After this play was over Amu really would in a sense be leaving him, perhaps forever, he couldn't let that happen! He needed her, needed her to stay by his side, he needed her to feel that way about him in reality, not just when they were on the stage. But even now, as he was thinking this she was stepping away from him, as if it hadn't meant a thing. "NO!" he cried suddenly, his voice filled with desperation as he grabbed onto her hand.

"Romeo!" she responded, "I must go, or else they will find you, and kill you!"

"I don't care!" he told her, in truth he didn't care, if someone were to kill him for loving Amu, he could think of no better way to die. He pulled her back to him, pulling her close once more, and reveling in the sensation. Then he bent down and brushed the hair from her eyes staring intently into them, searching for an ounce, just an ounce of hope that she felt the same desire that he had.

Amu blinked at Ikuto's sudden outburst, she could hear the raw emotion in his voice. She was beginning to wonder if he really was only acting. She turned as he held her close and looked into her eyes. What she saw sent shockwaves through her entire body. Her eyes widened and suddenly she couldn't breathe properly, her breathe came up short and her chest felt tight. The amount of sorrow in those eyes, the pain and heartache, the desperation, it seemed to stretch on forever. She had never seen Ikuto look so sad, in all of her life, it was the worst she had ever seen him. (Picture the look Ikuto has a death Rebel when they fight in the Amusement park….cept worse) She had seen Ikuto through a lot, seen him through highs and lows, but nothing could've prepared her for this. Her heart broke, just looking at him. She had never known a human being to ever feel so much sadness, in her entire life. No one, in their right mind, no one with a heart could see someone the way she saw Ikuto now and not be affected.

"Ikuto…." She whispered. And the floodgates opened. She wrapped her arms around his back and sobbed into his shirt. "I'm so sorry…" she cried amongst the tears. "I don't want you…to be sad anymore…" she told him, "I want…I want you to be happy."


	9. Authors Note

Hey guys…so unfortunately, I have some bad news. I'm not allowed to do any writing all summer long, which means I won't be able to update all summer. I'm sorry. My mom wants to help me with my writing so, she's keeping me from writing all summer and has me on this reading list of all kinds of different genres and writing styles and after I read something I have to report on it. Anyway, bottom line is, as I said I won't be able to update for a long time. It's only been like two weeks and I'm already struggling with wanting to write. However I do have a poem I wrote, my last piece of work before I was cut off. I will most likely be using it in future chapters of this fanfic, I'll either have to tweak it to fit the characters more specifically or only use parts of it, but at this point I am planning on using it to some degree. Also, I would still love for you guys to review, tell me what your fav part of the story has been so far and why, or give suggestions to where I should go from here, whatever it is, reviews really would be appreciated.

Alright here's the poem

The Mask

My dear, there's something I really need to tell you

Be careful of that mask you have

I know you think its fine

That it's better

Than facing all that pain and brokenness

Once the storms pass

Then you'll take it off

But I know the truth

And It's killing me to see you this way

You see it's really so much more than that

Something so easy to put on

Can be hard to take off

I know you're afraid that it'll crack

And someone might see through it

And that you just might lose your grip and lose everything

But hun, that's not the worst of it

You're so busy keeping strong

That you can't even see

That it's taken over you

Beware the mask and all its power

Less you become its newest victim

For what you see is what you get

When pretending becomes a lifestyle

And the mask is all you know

And when you start to wonder why

The person in the mirror

Is so completely unfamiliar

It's too late

The battles done and over

Now all that's left are consequences

How long can you keep it up?

You start to ask

How many fake smiles are left

How many time can I laugh without feeling joy

When can I set aside this mask and be done

When can I be free again

But the truth is that mask ain't never coming off

You put it on yourself, and yeah you weathered the storm

And now that mask is here to stay and no one knows who you are anymore

Is it worth it?

To spend eternity

As someone as some else

Just to get through another day

I could say a hundred words

And cry a thousand tears

To try and show you how beautiful you are

To tell you that you path your going down isn't going to give you what you want

But in the end the choice is yours.

And all I can do, is tell you, how you were meant for better things

and do my best to warn you

Of all the dangers inside that mask you're holding in your hands

Well, hope you guys liked it, with that, I must say goodbye for now! See you again once summer is over!


	10. Chapter 9

Hi everyone, I am so so soooo sorry, that its taken to so long to get this chapter up, it turns out my summer reading ending up taking a really long time to finish….sorry! But now here it is, and I should be able to post fairly regularly from now on. I hope you enjoy this chapter, It may feel a little out-of wack just cause I haven't written and so long, so I do apologize for that.

*I don't own shugo chara

Chapter 9: Hey Juliet

Ikuto wrapped his arms around Amu and just held her there as she cried. It was like she was crying for him, the silent tears of his heart that he had kept locked up. Ikuto couldn't remember the last time he had cried. After his mother died he had resolved to never cry again. And Easter, well, easter only strengthened his resolve. He knew that to easter crying was a weakness, and so no matter what had happened he had never cried. And now, here she was, his little strawberry, crying a flood of tears for him. It was one of the most beautiful sights he had ever seen.

Jeff stared at the two of them with tears welling in his eyes. "Oh…its beautiful….just so beautiful!" Honestly these two were like a gift from heaven, if they could move him to tears in a single moment then just think how audiences would react to an entire show. Oh it was such a beautiful thought. He started clapping and grabbed the two of them and pulled them both into a hug, "Wonderful! Absolutely wonderful!!!!" he cried joyously.

Ikuto, broken from his shock and sorrow when Jeff latched onto him, glanced over at Amu who was also squished into a hug. She too seemed to have lost the moment with thanks to Jeffs interference.

At last the director let them ago and they stumbled backward. Ikuto ran his hands through his hair and shook his head trying to shake the intensity of the emotions he had just felt. What had gotten into him? He couldn't believe he had lost his cool like that. He sighed, that was it, there was no denying it, he was in love with Amu and there was nothing he could do about it. He knew now that the way he felt about her couldn't be one of those things that he ignored and kept locked at the back of his mind. So, he only had one choice left, see if he could make her feel the same way about him. He smirked as he watched her _Be warned Amu, I'll definitely make you fall in love with you. _

~Amu's POV

Amu didn't fully comprehend what had just happened. All she knew, is that she couldn't bear to see Ikuto that way anymore, and that she was willing to do whatever it took to make him smile again. After that, her body had moved without her knowledge and next thing she knew she was sobbing into his shirt. _Great Job Amu, yes, you crying, that will _definitely_ make things better._ She thought to herself, but she couldn't help it, no matter how hard she tried she just couldn't stop the tears. And then she felt Ikuto's arms around her and she just knew, that somehow, she actually was helping.

And just like that the moment was over as the annoying director starting clapping with joy at how good their "acting" was. She rolled her eyes as he hugged the two of them and started ranting about how the audiences would love them. She tuned him out and looked over at Ikuto, he was watching her. She shuddered nervously, not because he was watching her, but because he was smirking. And when Ikuto smirked, bad things happened. In fact the last time he smirked, was when he forced her into that horrible dress. She could only imagine what he had in store for her this time.

~Normal POV

"Alright you two," Jeff announced, forcing their attention on him, "Now that you've got the whole hugging thing down, let's work on the kissing!"

Ikuto turned to Amu and smirked even more as she turned bright red and started stuttering.

"W-what?! B-b-but, it's not a r-real k-k-k-ki,"

"Kiss?" Ikuto provided with amusement evident in his tone.

She glared at him and continued talking to the director, "yes, it's not a r-real k-kiss, right? Just you know, a fake one, like in the movies, r-right?" she prayed to God it was.

It wasn't.

"My dear, that's the movies, and with movies of course they can change the angle and the lighting and everything else to make a fake kiss look real. But in theatre, we can't control that, besides in theatre we are professionals dear, and professionals NEVER fake anything!"

"B-b-but , but but-"

Ikuto pressed his finger to her lips and silenced her, "So, I guess I finally get to make your dreams come true huh?"

She blushed and let the 'Cool and Spicy' take over as she shoved his hand away, "As if! Like I would ever dream about kissing a perverted cat like you!"

Ikuto chuckled, "Then it shouldn't be such a big deal then should it? "

"I-It's not!" she insisted, "I don't care one bit about whether I kiss you or not."

"Good, then why don't you just kiss me now?"

"B-b-b-because!"

"Because why?" he insisted

"Just because okay!"

"Is it because its you're first kiss and you're scared you'll mess up?"

Amu's eyes widened and she almost dropped the act, "Yeah right! I've kissed p-plenty of other guys!"

He frowned ever so slightly, "Oh really? And who might they be?"

"Um…well…uh…"

"ENOUGH!" jeff finally shouted putting an end to the argument.

Amu breathed a sigh of relief, saved by the bell.

Jeff shook his head and ran his hand over his forehead. "Honestly," he muttered to himself, "how can they fight like that when one second ago they were in pretending to be in love?" He turned his attention back to then, "I don't care what your problems, are, all I know is that you HAVE to stop fighting NOW! You can't convincingly make-out with someone when you trying to tear their throat out. I don't care if this is rehearsal or not, I want it to look real right now so I know you can actually do it when you're on stage. Got it?"

Amu nodded quietly feeling bad for causing such a scene.

"yeah sure," Ikuto muttered. This guy was crazy, one minute he's happy go lucky and the next he's biting their heads off for one little argument.

"Okay good," Jeff said calming himself. "Now, Amu, there are some scenes in this play where Juliet has to initiate the kissing, and you're the one I'm most concerned about right now, so I want you to start this time okay?"

'But-"

"NO BUTS! JUST DO IT!"

She shrunk back with fear and nodded then looked towards Ikuto. She bit her lip and blushed slightly thinking about what she was about to do. Ikuto was right, she had never kissed anyone before, okay sure there was that one time with Ryan, but Ikuto had thankfully stopped the kid before anything could really happen. And so the thought of kissing someone terrified her. Yes, she was afraid she would mess up. She looked at him and her heart was nearly beating of its chest with nervousness. There he was, watching her, waiting. She gulped once more and decided to at least try. She stretched out her shaking hand and placed it on his cheek, uncertainly. And leaned slowly towards him. _I can't do this, I just can't! _ her voice screamed inside her. She paused about an inch from his face, her resolve slipping. _Come on, just…pretend its Tadase-kun!_ She told herself. She couldn't let herself give in, she could only imagine Ikuto's taunts afterwards. She closed her eyes , thought of Tadase and moved closer. Soon she was only centimeters away from kissing him and she could smell his breathe, which smelled surprisingly sweet. And then before her courage could give out on her she did it! She kissed him. Well, sort of. She closed the gap, pressed her lips to his in a quick peck and immediately pulled back. She was amazed that she had done it.

The director however was not. He stopped her victory dance, "What was that?!"

She paused and gulped, "Um, a kiss?"

"That? A kiss?!!! Are you kidding me?! That was a peck, a, a, I don't even know what that was, but that was most certainly not a kiss! Try again."

Amu groaned and looked back at Ikuto, she was surprised he wasn't making fun of her right about now. _ Okay, one more time, you can do it Amu!_ She told herself. She moved in again. Pressed her lips to his again. She held her lips to his for a few seconds, not making any movement, just holding them there, pressed together, and then after what she deemed the appropriate of time, she pulled away, again.

Jeff slapped himself in the face and let his palm slide down. "Ugh this is a disaster."

Amu stared at the ground, feeling bad, she didn't know what else to do, what did this guy want? Her to use her….she turned ripe red, tongue? She shuddered at the thought, no WAY would she ever put her tongue inside that perverts mouth, never ever!

"Okay," the director started again, "This clearly is not working…so, how bout we set the mood for you okay?"

"Um…okay." She said, she wasn't quite sure what he meant by that but whatever.

"Jake,' the director said, "Start flirting with her." With that the director flipped the switch and dimmed the lights and Ikuto smirked advancing towards Amu.

Flirting was something he was good at, and something he was dying to do with Amu anyway. He knew he once again wouldn't have to try to act. Regardless of the fact that her kiss wasn't really a kiss, the feel of her lips was still warm and pleasant, leaving him wanting more. It reminded him of the night in the closet, how he had kissed her to help her calm down. How he wished she remembered that.

"Amu…" he said, sliding one hand around her waist and tucking her hair behind her face with the other. "Amu, I just want you to know, that, regardless of what any other man thinks, or says, you're the most beautiful girl I've ever met. And when I'm with you, I'm happy again, and I mean, really happy." Sure it was cheesy, but he didn't care, he was speaking from the heart.

Amu blushed once more, she wanted to believe that what Ikuto was saying was true, that he really meant it. But she couldn't allow herself, she knew that he was only acting, he was just saying what he knew she wanted to hear. But even so, it made her weak.

"Amu," he pulled her closer to him, "Amu I…." he leaned in and Amu panicked pulling away suddenly and tripping. She fell and quickly stood up as Ikuto approached. He kept coming closer and closer, as she kept going back.

Suddenly she felt something firm and unyielding behind her back. She had hit the wall. She looked at Ikuto as he kept coming closer. He placed his hands on either side of her head and caged her there. "Amu," he pressed his forehead to hers, "Amu, my sweet strawberry, kiss me, please"

Amu refused to look into his eyes, knowing she would lose any will to keep from kissing him. Those eyes, were just too gorgeous and powerful to make her not want to kiss him.

But your lips are sealed, that ain't no big deal  
'Cause I know you really want me, yeah  
I hear your friends talk about me

Both Amu and Ikuto paused and glanced towards the sound. It was Jeffs cell phone, the director cursed and turned away from them in search of the phone.

Ikuto smirked that gave him an idea. He turned back to Amu, the song on the phone still playing.

Hey Juliet  
I think you're fine  
You really blow my mind  
Maybe someday you and me can run away  
I just want you to know  
I wanna be your Romeo

Ikuto figured the director was too pre-occupied with his phone to really pay attention to them, so that meant, he could actually start the kiss without the director knowing, and oh how he wanted to kiss her. Besides, it would make it easier for Amu, the director wouldn't make her start the kiss again and so she wouldn't have to worry anymore. So then, Amu would actually be grateful to him for kissing her. At least that's what he thought.

With his mind made up he leaned into Amu, whispering tenderly into her ear. "Hey Juliet," he said. "I just want you to know, I wanna be your Romeo."

With that he slipped his hand around her neck and pulled her towards him and pressed his lips to hers. He could tell she was shocked so He started gentle, almost asking permission to enter her mouth, he didn't want to overwhelm her. He was surprised when she gave in so easily and started kissing him back. Then the kiss grew in intensity as Ikuto pulled her closer to him and deepened the kiss, putting more emotion into it.

Amu had never felt so much joy in all her life. It was like she was tasting paradise. Joy and wonder flooded her veins as she felt him deepen the kiss. It was such a beautiful thing. At last the need to breathe became insistent at last the pair broke apart, panting for air.

Amu couldn't believe it. She had just given her first kiss to Ikuto.


	11. Chapter 10: I wanna be your romeo

Chapter 10

I wanna be your romeo

_Flashback_

_Amu couldn't believe it. She had just given her first kiss to Ikuto._

5 minutes later and Amu was still standing there. She hadn't moved and her face had gotten increasingly red. Ikuto had been smirking at first, but after a few minutes he got tired of it and was now watching her with a bored expression. The director on the other hand was still crying tears of joy. Ikuto rolled his eyes and at last reached out and put his hand on Amu's shoulder, "Amu," he called.

Just like that the trance was broken. Her eyes snapped back into her head and the redness started to fade, "I-I-IKUTO! YOU PERVERT! THAT WAS MY FIRST KIS-" she immediately covered her mouth realizing what she was saying. But it was too late, it was obvious what she was about to say.

Ikuto's smirk return "So, it was your first kiss afterall huh?"

She knew there wasn't much point in denying it still she tried, "N,no it wasn't."

"Mhm, sure," he told her in a tone that meant he didn't believe it, "Tell me, how was it? Did you have fun? We can do it again if you'd like," he informed her, pushing his face close to hers.

"Ew! No! Stay away from me perv!" she swatted him away, and stalked off, away from the restraining wall and a safe distance away from Ikuto. As she did so she walked past the director who had finally stopped crying.

"Well done you too! That was excellent, now I know I can depend on you to really make it happen on stage! Thank you for all your hard work today, you may be done for the night! Ta ta!"

Amu breathed a sigh of relief and bid the director goodbye. With that she hurried off the set and back towards her and Ikuto's room.

She reached the room and spun around, locking the door behind her. Ikuto, being behind her, was greeted by a door in the face. He tried opening it, and when he found he couldn't he pounded on the door. "Amu, let me in! Please!"

She was on the other side of the door, she had pressed up against it, then slowly slid to the ground, wrapping her arms around her knees. "Go away you stalker cat…"she muttered but her heart wasn't in it. The truth was, the kiss had unsettled her. It was wonderful, and passionate, and filled with emotion. She didn't know what to think anymore, she knew that the kiss left her wanting more. But what about Ikuto? What had he felt during that kiss? Where did the line between acting and reality meet? She didn't know. She rested her head against the wall, trying to drown out Ikuto's attempt to get inside. This whole adventure was turning out to be more than she had ever expected. Waking up with Ikuto in this play house was only the start. Then there was the drama with Ryan, and her and Ikuto getting locked in the closet. After that was her landing the role of Juliet, and then today, she had experienced so many different emotions just in the last hour, there was her emotional breakdown where she had literally soaked Ikuto's shirt with her tears, and then he had kissed her. She was emotionally drained and couldn't tell which way was up anymore.

Ikuto felt the change in mood, and his playfulness was instantly exstinguished. What was it about him that always made him act like a pervert when he was trying to be serious? He sighed "Amu, please. I'm sorry….I'm, so sorry." He sighed and walked away not knowing what else he could say. No doubt Amu was too upset to listen to anything he would have to say anyway. His thoughts returned to when he had kissed Amu, and a small smile spread. It had been wonderful even more wonderful then the one in the closet. It made him realize the truth, there was nothing he could do about his feelings, there was no way he could try to hold them in any more. Easter or no, he was in love with Amu, and besides, it was obvious by now that Easter knew nothing of them being here at all, perhaps it would stay that way. In the meantime one thing was certain, he would definitely make Amu fall in love with him.

About twenty minutes later Amu had finally managed to regain control of her emotions again and place the mask back in place. She was still shaken up to be sure, and had no clue as to how Ikuto had felt about the kiss, but she convinced herself that it didn't matter. She had never lied to herself so badly before. Of course it mattered, it matter more than anything else in the world, but of course she could never let him know that. She sighed and stumbled over to the bed where she fell down and weakly pulled the covers around her. Maybe some sleep would help. Within minutes she was asleep.

"It appears we've had a break through…" Hikari declared to her partner

He looked over and nodded, "Indeed, it appears subject number one has completely realized his true feelings, and not only that he is no longer fighting them," he smiled, "And as such it's really only a matter of time before number two follows suite."

Hikari nodded, "Its been hard, but I think in the end it'll be worth it. What do you say, after the play we let them go?"

"I see no problem with that, we've collected all the data we need, and I'm sure their relationship will be strong enough to last outside these walls."

The next morning Amu awoke feeling refreshed and eager to start the day. As she sat up in bed she looked for Ikuto, and was surprised to find he was nowhere to be found, and then she remembered what happened yesterday. No wonder he wasn't around. He pleasant mood beginning to be put out by the memory she flung the covers off and moved to the bathroom to change and brush her teeth. She had planned to head for the cafeteria after she was done, but it appears someone had other plans. When she emmurged from the bathroom she found breakfast waiting for her in bed. There was a small lap table surrounded by rose petals, and on top was a plate complete with orange juice, sausage and a smiling pancake. Next to the food was a note that said "I'm sorry," on the back it said "Ikuto" she shook her head and couldn't help but blush, she couldn't believe he had gone to such lengths for her, now she had no choice but to forgive him, but first she would enjoy her breakfast.

Once breakfast was over it was almost time to start play practice, Amu headed there early hoping that maybe Ikuto would be there, she couldn't think of where else he would be. To her luck he was, and they were the only ones there.

"Ikuto," she called, hurrying up to him,

"Amu," he smiled a genuine smile and Amu's heart skipped a beat.

"Th-thank you, for, the breakfast," she declared

"So, I'm forgiven?" he asked hopefully

She nodded.

"Good," he pulled her into a hug, 'I really can't stand it when you're mad at me,"

She glanced up towards him funnily, "really?"

"Really, " he pulled away from the hug and looked at her, "Amu, Its time I tell you, I care about you a lot, and even though I'm always saying stupid and perverted stuff, I don't really mean it, and when you're mad at me, I just hate myself for doing it, and can't even sleep. Its horrible. So please promise me you won't get mad at me anymore? Cause I really don't think I can take it…"

Amu was stunned, where was this coming from, it was as if Ikuto was speaking from his heart, it was beautiful to see, never before had he been so open and honest with her, but at the same time it frightened her, all this talk about him caring for her, what was he getting at? "Um…sure okay, I'll try not to…" she responded unsure.

"Perfect, that's all I want," he bent down and gave her a quick peck on the cheek, "Now lets go, practice is going to be outside today," he grabbed her by the hand and pulled her away.

**GAH I'm really really sorry I haven't updated in forever! And I'm sorry that this chapter is so short **** But I do have a way to make it up to you guys (hopefully). I'm going to allow one of you to make a guest appearance next chapter! All I need from you guys is a character description including physical description ie: hair color, eyes, height, etc, whether you want them to meet either Amu or Ikuto, and how they would react when meeting one of the above characters. I'll pick my favorite from the first five to respond, so make sure to review! Thanks!**

***I don't own Shugo Chara***


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